


The way you shine (when you tell the world you’re mine)

by Eriskay



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M, Prince Kurt Hummel, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 14:19:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 46,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9824282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eriskay/pseuds/Eriskay
Summary: At 21 years old, Kurt is starting his junior year in college with higher ambitions than is probably entirely advisable. Also, he just happens to be the heir to a throne, but more on that later. Meanwhile, Blaine has found himself accidentally following Kurt everywhere he goes. For six years. Let’s just say they have a lot to talk about, once they finally introduce themselves.AKA, the Kurt-is-a-prince-college-AU that kicks off with no less than four different meet-cutes, because why in the world not?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alternative summary: Kurt is a prince, Blaine swoons.
> 
> Also, if you happen to get the impression that Mike is older than everyone else for no apparent reason, you are 100% correct.

The boy had blue eyes and was just a little bit shorter than Blaine, yet he was definitely braver. Because he was the one who approached first.

“Hello,” he said, and there was something slightly off about the way he said it. Almost as though he hadn’t used the word in a while, and was out of practice. “Do you have time to play, right now?”

Blaine did.

They played catch, at first, and then an embarrassingly short game of hide and seek where the boy somehow found Blaine behind the first tree he looked. And then, to Blaine’s utter delight, they played pretend.

“When I grow up,” the boy said, sitting down next to Blaine by the tree, “I’m going to be a king.”

He sounded so sure, so absolutely certain. Blaine was impressed. And eager to join in.

“Where will you be king?” he asked.

“In Scherzia.”

The syllables of that word seemed a bit strange to Blaine, but the boy had spoken them very naturally. Almost as if he’d had lot of practice with that particular word.

“And where is that?” Blaine couldn’t help smiling. He loved this game. “Is it a magical place?”

The boy frowned at him.

“It’s home,” he said, simply.

“Kurt, honey? We’re about to leave.”

The boy looked up, grimacing towards the woman who had called out for him. Yet he immediately moved to stand up.

“Your name is Kurt?” Blaine asked quickly, because for some reason he wasn’t ready for their encounter to be over just yet.

“Yes,” the boy said, glancing back at him briefly. “It was nice making your acquaintance.”

There was something overly polite about Kurt’s tone, Blaine thought, yet the boy’s smile was warm. Blaine was glad to return it.

 

*

 

“Who is _that_?”

Blaine turned around, following Jeff’s gaze across the cafeteria. There was a kid sitting on his own at one of the corner tables, quickly eating his lunch as if he mostly just wanted to get through it. He had light brown hair that seemed to be styled quite carefully, and clear blue eyes. He was cute, Blaine quickly realized, but more importantly there was something oddly familiar about him.

“I suppose he’s a transfer?” Blaine guessed, eyeing the boy’s unmistakable Dalton uniform curiously. It did look new. “Strange, it’s already past the middle of the semester.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think they allowed transfers so late.”

“Maybe he’s like, a genius,” Blaine said, still watching the boy intently. “I actually feel like I recognize him from somewhere...”

“If he’s famous, then wouldn’t we have heard something by now? He’s probably nobody special.”

“Hey, did you guys hear the big news?”

Blaine reluctantly tore his eyes away from the mysterious transfer student to see David slide into the seat next to Jeff.

“Is this about that new kid?” Jeff asked, sighing. “God, I have this feeling we’re going to be talking about him for the rest of the week, and I’m already getting sick of it.”

“You definitely won’t be in a moment,” David promised, his tone beyond excited. “Okay, so about that kid? Apparently he’s like, some kind of royalty. And before you ask, I mean that as in _actual_ royalty. How cool is that, huh?”

“Is he the cousin of a baron, or something?” Jeff wondered, sounding only mildly interested.

Blaine looked over at the transfer student again, taking in the sharp angles of his face, his clear blue eyes. And that’s when it clicked.

“No,” he said, still staring at the boy. “He’s an actual prince, isn’t he?”

“You think?” David wondered, because apparently he hadn’t found out that much. “Prince of what country?”

“Scherzia,” Blaine said, firmly. “I think he’s the prince of Scherzia.”

“And where, exactly, is that…?”

“North of Italy, south of Switzerland,” Jeff supplied, shaking his head at David. “Remind me to _never_ let you help me with geography.”

“I’ve gotta go check something,” Blaine said abruptly, getting up.

“You’re not going to eat your lunch?” Jeff wondered, his expression a bit concerned. “You okay, Blaine?”

“Just fine. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

Blaine quickly made his way out of the cafeteria. His heart was beating fast as he half walked, half ran through the hallways of Dalton, finally making it to his dorm room. As soon as he was inside, he immediately went to his desktop, pulling out the bottom drawer and rummaging through it until he found what he was looking for. It was an old photo album, full of pictures from when Blaine was younger. There were pictures of him in piano class, of his first day at school, of him and his brother riding bicycles. And towards the end of the album, there were a few shots from his first trip abroad, the family holiday they had gone on when Blaine was six.

They’d spent three weeks in Italy. Blaine remembered the warm summer sun, and the amazing, never-ending beaches. And he remembered the boy he’d met, in a park. The one he’d happened to play with for a while. His mother had snapped a picture of them, sitting by that tree, the one Blaine had failed to hide behind. And apparently, she had been talking with Kurt’s mother, too. Because as soon as Kurt had left, she had rushed over to Blaine’s side, to tell him. That Kurt’s mother was an actual queen, out on a rare, private vacation. And she’d just happened to be out for a stroll with her only son. Kurt.

The crown prince of Scherzia.

Now, as Blaine carefully took the picture out of the old album, looking at those beautiful blue eyes, he knew he hadn’t been mistaken. For some inexplicable reason, the Kurt he had met all those years ago had just transferred to Dalton Academy.

That same evening, Blaine went over to Jeff and David’s room. He showed them the picture and told them about that one time when he had happened to play hide and seek with a crown prince. By the time he finished, both Jeff and David were staring at him.

“This,” David begun after a moment, his eyes wide, “Is seriously awesome!”

“You think?” Blaine wondered, feeling a bit weary.

“Well, yeah,” David said, grinning. “Because now you get to see him again, show him the picture. You can be friends with a prince!”

“Or maybe just a little bit more than friends,” Jeff suggested, raising an eyebrow towards Blaine. “He’s pretty cute, huh? And it’s about time you got over Marcus, already.”

“No, that’s…” Blaine tried his best to glare at Jeff. “I mean, yes, Kurt is kind of attractive. And I’m more than over Marcus, thank you very much. I just don’t think I should actually talk to Kurt. About anything.”

“What?” David exclaimed, sounding far too concerned for someone who technically wouldn’t be affected either way. “But Blaine, you’ve already talked to him. You already know him!”

“We played together as kids for less than five minutes,” Blaine reminded them tersely. “I was six, I suppose he was seven. I’m sure he doesn’t even remember.”

“So remind him,” David said, staring incredulously at Blaine. “I mean, why in the world not?”

“No, I just… No.” Blaine sighed. “I’m sure everyone’s going to try to be his best friend. I don’t want to bother him. He’ll probably get way more attention than he’d like, as it is.”

“And you don’t think you’ll regret it?” Jeff wondered, his tone sort of doubtful. “After he graduates and leaves, I mean. You definitely won’t get another chance to see him, once he goes back to his country.”

“It’s seven months until the end of the school year,” Blaine pointed out calmly. “If I change my mind, I can just approach him whenever. No problem.”

It was the fastest seven months of Blaine’s life.

Before he knew it, it was June, and he was sitting in the school auditorium watching the graduation ceremony of the senior class. By that time, the students at Dalton were well over the fact that a prince had been attending the school along with them. Their parents, however, were not. When Kurt’s name was called, the members of the audience seemed to crane their necks a little extra as he walked across the stage to receive his diploma.

After the ceremony, Blaine spent the entire reception watching Kurt across the room.

He had the picture of the two of them together tucked safely into his pocket. If he wanted to, he could easily cross over the room to Kurt. Politely introduce himself, and share his anecdote about how they’d met, long ago. Maybe it would make Kurt smile, just a little. Maybe it would make Kurt smile towards Blaine.

Before he lost his nerve, Blaine got up. Slowly, he made his way towards Kurt, who was talking with his small group of friends. He didn’t really have much trouble getting to Kurt’s side, yet once he was there, and Kurt turned to face him, he somehow found himself completely unable to think of what to say.

“Congratulations,” Blaine finally decided on, offering Kurt a slight smile. “On graduating, I mean. I… I hope you have safe travels.”

“Thank you,” Kurt said, watching Blaine a bit uncertainly. “That’s kind of you to say.”

Blaine hesitated, wondering if he should continue. Where he could start. Yet before had managed to find the right words, someone spoke up behind Kurt.

“We should get going. Unless there’s anyone else you want to speak with?”

“No,” Kurt said, yet his eyes were still on Blaine. “There’s… There’s no one else. Let’s go, Mike.”

“After you, then.”

Kurt nodded, and with one last, rather curious look towards Blaine, he left. Mike, an Asian-looking man wearing a black suit and a very obvious earpiece, glanced suspiciously in Blaine’s direction before he followed Kurt out the room. As the door closed behind them, Blaine finally allowed himself to take a deep breath, lowering his gaze.

He’d missed his chance.

And for some reason, that almost made him feel relieved.

Almost.

 

*

 

Just a little bit over a year later, Blaine was dragging an oversized suitcase up a flight of stairs in an upscale apartment complex near Kensington Gardens.

“Of course Cooper lives on the top floor,” he muttered to himself as he paused to catch his breath for a moment. “Of course the damn elevator’s broken. _Of course_.”

“Need a hand?”

Blaine wasn’t sure what he had expected when he looked up, but it certainly wasn’t those familiar blue eyes and a warm smile.

“Which floor are you headed to?” Kurt asked, lifting the other end of Blaine’s suitcase with surprising ease.

“Ninth,” Blaine heard himself answering, his voice coming out strange. “I… My brother lives there.”

“All right,” Kurt said brightly. “Only two floors to go, then.”

Together, they managed to carry Blaine’s suitcase up fairly quickly. When they reached the top floor, Blaine was panting again. Kurt, meanwhile, seemed almost unaffected.

“Thank you so much,” Blaine still managed, because he wasn’t about to forget his manners even when his body was aching and his mind was spinning in circles. “I really owe you one.”

“Don’t mention it,” Kurt said, leaning casually against the banister. “Are you visiting your brother?”

“I’m staying with him for a while. Until the semester starts, when I’ll be moving into the dorms.”

“Oh, you’re a student,” Kurt said, his tone suddenly more than just politely interested. “What’s your major?”

“This will be my first year, so I haven’t really declared,” Blaine replied, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt about the fact that they were having an actual conversation – their third, even though he was becoming increasingly certain that Kurt didn’t remember much of the previous two. “But I’m thinking of going into musical theatre.”

“Sounds fun,” Kurt said, sounding like he actually meant it. “I’m doing international relations.”

“Of course you are,” Blaine replied, before he could stop himself. “I mean… That sounds very interesting. Yeah.”

Kurt raised a curious eyebrow, yet before he had the time to ask, a woman’s voice was heard from a few floors down.

“Kurt? Are you coming inside?”

“I’ll be right there!” Kurt called in response, offering Blaine an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I’ve got to go.”

“Don’t let me keep you,” Blaine said, and then he couldn’t help but ask, “Your mother?”

“Step-mother,” Kurt said, his tone even as he continued. “My mom’s dead.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, his eyes widening. “I’m so sorry.”

“Anyway,” Kurt continued, actually offering Blaine a small smile. “I might see you around, yeah?”

And just like that he left, quickly making his way down the stairs.

It was a full five minutes before Blaine had calmed down enough to ring the doorbell to his brother’s apartment.

 

*

 

Even though he and Kurt had talked more in their latest encounter than ever before, it had left Blaine with so many new questions about the prince. Which was why that evening, after Cooper had finally called it a night and gone off to sleep, Blaine took to the internet.

It didn’t take him long to find an article from a year earlier, about Kurt’s acceptance into Imperial College London. That had to mean that Kurt was currently living in the city, which would at least partly explain why he was hanging about in empty stairwells and helping silly Americans carry their luggage. Of course, Blaine didn’t find anything regarding where exactly Kurt lived, but considering their meeting earlier that day and the fact that Cooper’s neighbourhood was of the ritzier variety, he figured he had a pretty good guess.

Finding out the details of Kurt’s mothers death had been even easier. Queen Elisabeth of Scherzia had died about ten years earlier, from an unusual heart disease. It seemed to have been quite unexpected. Many of the articles were accompanied by pictures from the funeral, where a young Kurt with a solemn expression featured in most of them.

Blaine only read one of the articles, and then quickly decided to skip the rest. The emptiness reflected in Kurt’s eyes had already told him more than he’d ever wanted to know about the queen’s death. Instead, Blaine pulled up google, and typed in his next query: _order of succession Scherzia royal family who is king???_

Thirty minutes and two Wikipedia articles later, Blaine leaned back in his chair, staring thoughtfully at a picture of Kurt on his screen. It was a recent photograph, taken that year in Scherzia. Apparently, Kurt had been home for spring break, and had attended a few public events along with the queen. Queen Anne. She was the late queen Elisabeth’s sister, and consequently Kurt’s aunt. According to the succession laws of Scherzia, which Blaine suddenly found himself quite familiar with, Kurt was first in line for the throne and could have taken it from his aunt the day he turned eighteen. However, it had been decided that Queen Anne would continue to serve for a few more years, as Kurt wished to at least complete his studies before assuming the throne. Which, Blaine thought, seemed like a pretty smart idea. Blaine couldn’t even imagine being tasked to run a country on his eighteenth birthday, and the fact that Kurt couldn’t either was somehow reassuring.

Then again, there were a lot of aspects of Kurt’s life that Blaine couldn’t seem to imagine at all. The Kurt in the pictures seemed so calm, so perfectly composed, even as he held public speeches or greeted important politicians. Blaine wasn’t sure that he could take even one step before that many cameras without inevitably making a fool of himself one way or another, but it seemed like Kurt could do no wrong. He carried himself with such confidence, such poise, that Blaine was sure could only come from being born into a world of royalty.

Before Blaine closed the browser, he went ahead and saved a few pictures of Kurt to his computer. Because Kurt had evidently become even more handsome since high school, and Blaine was only human. Besides, it somehow seemed fitting for Blaine to admire Kurt this way. From afar. Because at the end of the day, Blaine knew all too well that this was the reality of things. He and Kurt were worlds apart, would always be worlds apart.

Despite the startling fact that they seemed to keep meeting.

Blaine didn’t run into Kurt again during the time that he stayed with his brother. He kept glancing over his shoulder every time he came and went from the apartment, but Kurt was simply never around. So when the start of the semester came three weeks later, and Blaine found himself dragging his giant suitcase down the stairs by himself, he allowed himself to wish, just this once, that Kurt could have appeared before him one last time.

Although not primarily because of his suitcase.

 

*

 

When Kurt came out, Blaine didn’t actually hear about it until over a week later.

“I’ve decided to join the postcard campaign for that royal dude who just got himself out of the closet,” Blaine’s flatmate, Tina, told him one afternoon. “I’ve got no clue who exactly he is, but he seems really sweet and everyone’s been giving him grief, you know? And I think it’s fabulous that people are trying to reach out in support, too.”

“Wait, who’s this about?” Blaine asked, sitting up straight and throwing his brand new copy of Vogue carelessly to the side. “Is he a… A prince?”

“Crown prince, apparently,” Tina said, clicking a link on her phone and turning the display so Blaine could see. “Openly gay as of last Tuesday. He’s had a rough week.”

As Blaine looked down at Tina’s phone, he wasn’t actually sure of what he hoped to see. However, there was one person he couldn’t help but expect. Which was why he wasn’t very surprised to see those clear, blue eyes staring back at him from the picture.

Of course it was Kurt. Somehow, it was always Kurt.

“Super cute, yeah?” Tina said, grinning. “I thought you’d be a fan.”

“He’s... Definitely cute, yes.” Blaine cleared his throat, not sure how to phrase what he was about to say next. Which encounter to start with. “He went to high school in the US.”

“Really?” Tina wondered, scrolling down to the article on her phone. “That’s not mentioned here.”

“He went to Dalton, Tina.”

Tina looked up at Blaine, her eyes wide. Somehow, she suddenly reminded Blaine a lot of David.

“So you know him?” she wanted to know, excitement shining in her eyes.

“No,” Blaine said firmly, because at least that was simply the truth. “Although I’ve talked to him a couple of times. He actually lives here in London, right now.”

“Wait, really? How come?”

“He attends Imperial College,” Blaine explained, trying to sound casual as he continued. “I, uh, may have ran into him last year. Once.”

“Where?” Tina asked immediately, and okay, no, Blaine wasn’t about to reveal that much even to Tina. “Did you give him your number?”

“Of course not. I haven’t even told him my name. He sort of helped carry a suitcase and we talked for a bit, but that was it. It’s not like either of us were flirting.”

“Well,” Tina said, looking back towards the article on her phone. “You obviously should have been.”

Blaine didn’t answer. Mostly because he couldn’t figure out a convincing enough way to disagree.

“Why don’t you write him a postcard of your own?” Tina suggested after a moment. “Everyone’s doing it, it’s all over my Twitter feed.”

“Really?” Blaine said, pleasantly surprised. “That’s actually really nice.”

“I know, right? And you even know him, a little bit. Plus, you’re actually gay. You could definitely write something really personal.”

“I don’t know,” Blaine said, yet somehow he found himself actually considering it. “I’m not sure if there’s anything I want to say to him.”

Except that there were a lot of things Blaine may or may not have wanted to tell Kurt, through the years. None of them seemed quite right for this occasion, though.

“Just write that you support him, like everyone’s doing,” Tina encouraged, smiling cheekily at him as she continued. “Or, better yet, go ahead and ask him out. Attach a picture! I bet he’d adore you.”

“That’s very funny, Tina. I’d be better off not writing him at all.

 

*

 

_Kurt,_

_We’ve met a couple of times, although I’m sure you don’t remember me at all. It seems like I never made much of an impression on you. I still owe you one, by the way, but I doubt I’ll ever get the chance to return the favor._

_I just wanted to tell you that I really admire you for being so honest about yourself. It must have been a difficult decision, considering your position as crown prince. Probably more difficult than I can even understand. I hope you’re not discouraged by some of the initial reactions you’ve received. You seem to be so loved by your country, and I believe that there are many people who will share in your happiness someday, when they get to see the way you smile at the man of your dreams. There will come a time when all of this was just the prequel to your perfect, happy ending. Have courage, Kurt. I believe in you._

_Also, I’m definitely starting to regret that I didn’t ask you out any of the times when I arguably had the chance, but that’s a different story entirely._

_I wish you every happiness._

_B.A._

 

*

 

The first time Kurt walked into Blaine’s new part-time job, Blaine dropped a tray of very expensive chocolate truffles.

Quickly, Blaine ducked behind the counter, scrambling to pick up the chocolates. It took him well over a minute, perhaps because he couldn’t quite keep his hands from trembling. By the time he got back to his feet, Kurt was standing right before the counter, holding a small bag of dark chocolate covered almonds.

“Hello there,” he greeted Blaine, offering a small smile. “Everything all right?”

“Yes,” Blaine said quickly, clearing his throat and setting aside the tray. “I’m great, everything’s… Everything’s fantastic.”

“That’s good to hear,” Kurt said, his tone perfectly polite. “I’d like these almonds.”

“Of course,” Blaine said quickly. “That’s… That’ll be three pounds ninety-nine. Please.”

Kurt payed by credit card, and Blaine busied himself with placing Kurt’s purchase in a brown paper bag. As he handed it over, their fingers brushed lightly.

Kurt offered Blaine one last smile, before turning around and starting to make his way over to the door. It was only then that Blaine noticed a decidedly familiar man standing over by the entrance to the shop. He was wearing a black suit and, of course, an earpiece. As Kurt walked out, the man threw a curious glance towards Blaine, before he followed.

Blaine didn’t tell Tina about it until Kurt had already stopped by the chocolate boutique twice more. Of course, Tina was ecstatic.

“You have to ask him!” she encouraged Blaine, positively beaming.

“About what, exactly…?”

“About what he thought of your postcard, of course! What else, Blaine?” Thankfully, Tina didn’t wait for Blaine to respond. “He’ll want to thank you in person, of course, and maybe one thing will lead to another, and… Oh, this is so exciting!”

“No, it’s not,” Blaine said firmly. “Because I’m not asking him that, or anything else. Also, remind me never to introduce you to David.”

 

*

 

The sixteenth time Kurt entered the chocolate boutique, Blaine definitely wasn’t keeping count.

Kurt looked over towards the counter, offering Blaine a brief smile, before he wandered over to a corner of the shop. Meanwhile, Kurt’s security detail had apparently decided not to linger about by the door, this time. Instead, he was making his way directly towards the counter, and Blaine.

“Hi,” he said once he’d reached it, scanning the items closest to him and quickly selecting a heart shaped box of nougat truffles. “I’ll have these.”

“Right,” Blaine managed, punching the purchase into the register with a hopefully discreet glance towards the man’s earpiece. “That’ll be five pounds forty-nine, please.”

While Blaine placed the box in a bag, the man watched him quite closely.

Too closely.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” he wondered, tilting his head a bit. “There’s something kind of familiar about your face.”

“Well…” Blaine hesitated, wondering how advisable it was to lie to a man who was most likely part of some kind of secret service. Probably not very. “You might have seen me in here before, I work Tuesday and Thursday nights, and every other weekend.”

“I know that,” the man said, still staring quite intently at Blaine. “You sure we haven’t met sometime before? I don’t know where, I just…”

Blaine glanced over towards Kurt, finding him busy in the other end of the shop, before he replied to that question. Because now he actually had to say it. “Well, it might be that you recognize me because… I attended Dalton. Around the same time as Kurt.”

“Oh,” the man said, looking from Blaine, to Kurt, and then back towards Blaine. “ _Oh_.”

“Yeah.” Blaine tried a smile. “You’re Mike, as I recall? Bit of a coincidence, all of this.”

“Coincidence, you say,” Mike said, and Blaine didn’t quite like how unconvinced he sounded. “Do you know Kurt?”

“No,” Blaine said, pausing for a moment before deciding he’d better go for full disclosure. “I mean, we’ve talked. A couple of times.”

“At Dalton?”

“Once, at Dalton,” Blaine said, trying his best to sound casual. “And again, about a year after his graduation, when I had just moved to London. We happened to run into each other. Although actually, I sort of doubt he recognized me.”

“Right,” Mike said, and now he was starting to look almost amused. Which was far better than suspicious, but Blaine couldn’t say he was thrilled. “All of this purely coincidental, of course. Just like how you happened to become the cashier in the chocolate shop Kurt frequents, by accident.”

“I guess it sounds a bit strange when you put it that way.” Blaine cleared his throat, not sure if he should be worried, or just plain embarrassed. “Can I ask… Am I in trouble?”

Mike grinned.

“Not really,” he said, his tone almost too friendly. “Between you and me, I’m the one who’s in a pinch.”

Blaine blinked, confused. Mike, meanwhile, gestured towards the chocolates he had just purchased.

“You’ve just made me late for my date, tonight,” he told Blaine, and even though his tone was cheerful, something about his smile had changed. “Because even though you seem like a great kid and all, protocol requires me to run a background check on you after my shift. And that’s going to take a while.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, feeling surprised and actually a little bit guilty. “That’s… I’m so sorry.”

“That’s all right, mate. Not your fault.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Mike raised an eyebrow towards him, clearly surprised. Yet he also looked thoughtful. With one quick glance towards Kurt, who was still a safe distance away, he leaned a bit closer to Blaine.

“Probably not,” he said, his tone quieter, now. “I mean, what I’ll basically need to do is, get in touch with a couple of authorities, have them look up your social security number and then run it through a few systems. That’ll give me all the information I need to verify your story. The longest part of the process is waiting for them to get back to me.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, thinking quickly. “So what if I just gave my social security number to you, right now? That would help, wouldn’t it?”

Mike stared at him, incredulous.

“You’re very trusting,” he remarked, shaking his head a little.

“You’re a man in a suit wearing an earpiece,” Blaine shot back, daring a slight smile. “I think I can trust you to keep a secret.”

Mike chuckled.

“I can’t say you aren’t right about that,” he told Blaine, shaking his head again. Yet he was still smiling. “All right, then. Thanks. I seriously owe you one.”

“Don’t mention it,” Blaine said, already reaching for a pen.

And so it happened that Blaine wrote down his full social security number on the back of a discarded receipt. Just as he finished, however, a familiar voice was heard.

“Mike? What are you doing?”

Blaine froze, barely daring to turn his head to Mike’s left, where of course, Kurt was standing. Looking right at them.

“Kurt,” Mike said, glancing from the receipt in Blaine’s hand and back towards Kurt, looking uncharacteristically nervous. “That’s, you see-”

“He’s buying chocolates,” Blaine interrupted quickly.

Both Mike and Kurt turned to stare at him. Blaine, meanwhile, calmly slipped the receipt onto the bag of chocolates before holding it out towards Mike.

“Good luck on your date, yeah?”

Mike slowly reached out to take the bag, offering Blaine a faint smile.

“Thanks.”

Kurt was still eyeing the bag with a vaguely suspicious look in his eyes.

“Would you like something?” Blaine dared to ask him, knowing he was smiling wider than before. “Chocolate covered almonds, maybe?”

Kurt turned to look at him, yet for once, he wasn’t smiling.

“Maybe another time. Come on, Mike. We’re late.”

And then he turned around, quickly making his way out of the store. Mike mouthed a silent _thank you_ towards Blaine, before he followed.

 

*

 

Kurt (… and Mike) didn’t come back to the chocolate boutique for three weeks.

Blaine couldn’t say it bothered him. Not much, anyway. After all, Kurt might simply have been going to the store like always, just not on the days when Blaine happened to be working. Except that Blaine usually saw Kurt in the shop once, sometimes twice a week. But still. It was entirely _possible_ that Kurt wasn’t avoiding the store at all, and that if he was, it had nothing at all to do with Blaine.

After exactly three weeks and two days had passed, Blaine got a phone call. From Mike.

“Hello, is this Blaine Devon Anderson, born April 4th 1994, son of Dylan and Pamela Anderson, currently residing on 23rd Parmiter Street and enrolled at King’s College London, Musical Education major?”

“I… Who is this?”

“It’s Mike. You know – sunglasses, earpiece, crown prince in tow…”

“Oh! Hi.  Wait, how did you…? Oh. I suppose that much information was fairly easy for you to find out?”

“Tip of the iceberg, really,” Mike said cheerfully, continuing before Blaine had the chance to ask what else he may or may not have uncovered about Blaine. “So, could I possibly ask you a favour?”

“You mean in addition to the one you already owe me?”

“… yeah. I guess. Although this would technically be more for Kurt’s sake, than mine.”

“Really,” Blaine said, suddenly a lot more curious. “Did something happen?”

“Well, you were there.”

“I… I was?”

“Yes. And as I’m sure you’ve noticed, Kurt hasn’t been back to your chocolate place since.”

“It isn’t _my_ chocolate place,” Blaine couldn’t help but clarify. “I just work there, part-time. I don’t even make any of the chocolate.”

“I’m not sure if Kurt even cares about the chocolate anymore.” Mike’s tone was tired. “Before you started working there, Kurt used to stop by no more than once a month.”

“Wait, _what_? No, you don’t mean…  What do you mean?”

“And I think that Kurt somehow got the wrong idea, last time you saw him,” Mike continued, wisely choosing to ignore Blaine’s incoherent questions. “I have no idea what he might have assumed, because he doesn’t really talk to me about things like that anymore. But he’s still moping about it, and frankly, it’s getting annoying.”

“But is he...” Blaine begun, before he realized he wasn’t sure what he was trying to ask. “Do you really think he thinks I’m… Why would he ever, in any way, notice _me_?”

“Well aren’t you just full of confidence,” Mike muttered. “Look, it’s not that complicated. You seem nice enough, you’re very decent-looking for a guy and you’re always happy to see Kurt. _No_ , don’t even deny it, I’ve seen the way you smile at him. Plus, you remember things like his favourite sweets. That’s kind of cute.”

“But would you say he’s… I mean, I still can’t believe he’d want-“

“I think he really wants to talk to you, is all,” Mike interrupted him, speaking very firmly. “I think he’s wanted to get to know you for a while, now. And I think he was both annoyed and a bit worried when I supposedly beat him to it.”

Blaine was quiet for a moment, considering that. Because except for how he couldn’t quite grasp how this could be happening, it also made just a little bit of sense.

“All right,” he finally conceded. “So, what do you want me to do?”

“You working this Saturday?”

“No, actually.”

“Let’s pretend I didn’t already know that,” Mike said, quickly continuing. “Could you come to Victoria Park?

“You mean the park closest to where I happen to live? Because now you’re being almost too obvious.”

“You just need to get better at pretending,” Mike told him, his tone actually teasing. “Look, Kurt’s going to be meeting some friends there, around one o’clock in the afternoon. They’re playing frisbee.”

“So basically, you want me to… Crash their royal outing?”

“Pretty much, yes. Talk to him – he wants you to, okay, so just do it. Don’t overthink it. Explain how you’ve met him long before he set foot in your chocolate store, and that you’d love to hang out sometime. Simple as that. And also, tell him that I never told you any of his dirty secrets or otherwise betrayed him. That last bit might actually be especially important. For you, I mean. If you want this to go over well.”

“But do you really think Kurt will appreciate me showing up, out of nowhere?” Blaine wondered, still feeling a bit unsure. “Especially if he’s been avoiding me for three weeks.”

“I’m sure he’d be absolutely delighted,” Mike immediately enthused. “So that means you’ll do it, right? You’ll be there? Please say yes?”

 

*

 

The following Saturday, Blaine found himself sitting on a bench in Victoria Park, trying his best to pretend that he was reading a book.


	2. Chapter 2

Blaine had changed his mind about going to the park at least six times since the phone call with Mike. Mostly because he wasn’t sure what he actually wanted to say. It seemed reasonable that he should finally tell Kurt about how their paths couldn’t seem to stop crossing, because anything else would be ridiculous at this point. However, he still wasn’t sure where he ought to start. Or how Kurt would even react.

And, perhaps even more importantly, it was an actual possibility that Kurt had things he wanted to say to Blaine, too. If Mike was to be believed.

Blaine hadn’t quite figured out how he was going to do this when he’d left his dorm that morning, and he certainly hadn’t made any progress as he’d waited in the park for the clock to turn one. So when that familiar voice was suddenly heard before him, Blaine couldn’t say he felt anywhere near ready.

“Hello.”

_Oh_ , Blaine thought, looking up to take in Kurt’s somewhat hesitant expression. _Sounds like he’s had some practice with that word, over the years._

Thankfully, that wasn’t what Blaine said.

“You’re early.”

Well. Maybe that wasn’t the most intelligent response he could have come up with either, given that he wasn’t supposed to know Kurt was coming. But at least it made Kurt smile.

“I had the feeling Mike was up to something,” he said calmly, stepping forwards to take a seat next to Blaine. “Guess I was right.”

“Are you here alone?” Blaine wondered, because he definitely wasn’t used to seeing Kurt without Mike looming somewhere in the background.

“Mike’s hiding behind those bushes. I think that’s his idea of giving us some space.”

And okay, that definitely gave Blaine a pretty good idea of what page Kurt was on, per say.

Too bad it didn’t make him any less unsure of how to try and explain, well. Any of it.

“I… I have some things I’d like to tell you,” he ventured after a moment, hoping he didn’t sound too nervous.

“Is that so,” Kurt said, speaking slowly. “So that’s why you came here, today?”

“I… Basically, yes.” Blaine glanced unsurely towards Kurt. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No,” Kurt said, his tone curious as he continued. “It’s just unexpected. I would have guessed you had questions, for me? Not answers.”

“Well, it’s… a bit of a long story. And I’m honestly not sure where to start.”

“Then why don’t you start from the beginning?” Kurt suggested, turning to face Blaine properly. “That usually works for me.”

“That’s… Would you mind if I started from the ending instead?” Blaine cleared his throat. “I think that might be better.”

“Sure,” Kurt said, and now he was smiling just a little bit. “So? How does it end?”

“Well, I… I suppose you could say it ends here. Depending on how this goes.” Blaine took a deep breath, before finally daring to continue. “Because the thing is… I’ve met you, before.”

“You mean, before we first met in your chocolate shop?” Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

“It really, _really_ isn’t my chocolate shop,” Blaine couldn’t help but point out, before he answered the question. “But yes, I’m very sure. We’ve met long before that. Several times, actually.”

“But I don’t… I don’t remember you at all.” Kurt was frowning, now. “I really think I would have remembered you.”

“You could say I never really introduced myself,” Blaine explained awkwardly. “It wasn’t exactly… We’ve never talked for very long.”

“But we’ve talked?” Kurt asked, clearly surprised. “When was the most recent time?”

“I guess about a year and a half ago? I’d just moved to London, and was staying with my brother. The elevator was broken and I had this really, _really_ heavy suitcase. Earls Court Road?”

“You… No. That was _you_?”

“Yes,” Blaine said, and now it was his turn to sound surprised. “You actually remember?”

“Ninth floor, right?” Kurt said, grinning. “I do remember. You were absolutely exhausted.”

“I was severely jetlagged,” Blaine recalled, feeling both self-conscious and just a little bit… happy. All things considered. “I do strive to look a bit more put-together, most days.”

“So I’ve noticed,” Kurt said, and although his tone was very casual, he was still smiling. “But please, continue. You mentioned there were several times…?”

“Yes, well… There was this this one time about a year after that, when I wrote you a postcard. But I don’t think that one even counts.”

“Oh,” Kurt said, his expression turning slightly more serious. “So, you wrote one of _those_ postcards? A lot of people got together and sent cards to me after I sort of crashed right out of the closet.”

“Is that how you’d describe it?” Blaine asked, wondering if it’d be too much to put his arm around Kurt. Or reach out for his hand. No, definitely too much. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“It was my own choice,” Kurt said, his tone very calm. Controlled. “I knew it was going to cause quite a commotion, but I had finally decided that I wasn’t prepared to live a lie. I didn’t get to pick the time and place, in the end, but at least my entire statement was in my own words. So I basically knew exactly what I was getting myself into, but… I don’t think I could ever have prepared myself for everything that would follow.”

“I hope you still feel that it was the right thing to do,” Blaine said, and it wasn’t quite a question.

“Absolutely,” Kurt said, sounding perfectly certain. “I’ve received a fair amount of hate, and I’m sure I haven’t seen the last of that, but there are so many people who have reached out in support, or to thank me, or to tell their stories, and it’s just… I seem to have made myself a bit of a symbol, being a gay crown prince. And actually, I kind of like the idea of that being my legacy. It’s catchy, if nothing else. The gay crown prince.”

“That’s one way of looking at it,” Blaine said, smiling. “I’m glad you’re not regretting it, though. No one should ever have to.”

“Very true,” Kurt agreed. “But let’s get back to the story about your postcard. What’d it say?”

“Oh, not much,” Blaine said quickly. “Just… That we’d met before, and that I thought it was great that you were so honest about who you are. I told you to have courage, and I wished you luck. That was it. There was nothing else.”

“That bit about courage is a bit familiar,” Kurt said, looking too curious for Blaine’s liking. “But let’s continue. You said we’d met even before that?”

“Yes, actually. When you were in high school?”

“That actually makes sense, since you’re from America,” Kurt said, nodding. “Did you know I spent most of my senior year over there?”

“Of course,” Blaine said, unable to help his grin as he continued. “Because the thing is, I went to Dalton. I was a junior when you transferred.”

“You… No.” Kurt was gaping at him, now. “No way. Did I get to know you? I would have remembered _knowing_ you.”

“You really, really didn’t know me,” Blaine assured Kurt. “I only spoke to you once. At your graduation? I came up, and-“

“Hold on,” Kurt interrupted, very nearly stumbling over his words as he continued. “That was you? You’re him, you’re that guy who was… You’re _Blaine_.”

“You know my name?” Blaine couldn’t help but ask, even though Kurt obviously did. “How is that even…? I’m sure I never told you.”

“You didn’t need to _tell me_ , Blaine,” Kurt sighed, as if Blaine had just said something particularly stupid. “You were the lead singer of the Warblers. The entire school knew your name.”

“I wouldn’t quite say that,” Blaine said, yet it was a weak protest. “We got some support before competitions, but I’m sure most people didn’t really care.”

“Your version of Teenage Dream is the best I’ve heard before or since,” Kurt told him, his expression perfectly serious. “You are very talented, Blaine.”

“Thank you.” Blaine knew he was probably blushing, but he wasn’t sure if it was from Kurt complimenting him, or just from the fact that Kurt kept saying his name. Because that was, well. New. “I really loved being a part of that group. It taught me a lot.”

“I actually thought about joining,” Kurt said, his tone a bit wistful. “But you had to sign up at the beginning of the school year. You guys were pretty serious about these things.”

“I think we would have made an exception for you, if you’d asked.”

“I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to ask for that,” Kurt told him, something rather firm about his tone. “I generally don’t like to be made an exception.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Blaine said, nodding. “You must get enough of that, as it is.”

“Sort of,” Kurt said, yet he didn’t elaborate. “But I have to ask, are you still pursuing music?”

“Actually, I’m majoring in musical education. I think I’d really like to be a teacher.”

“Good for you,” Kurt said, yet something about his expression shifted slightly. “Your students will be very lucky to have you.”

“I hope so.”

They were both quiet for a moment. Blaine glanced over towards Kurt, discovering that his expression had become very thoughtful. Maybe he was pondering the fact that all these random persons he’d ran into over the years were actually one and the same. Or maybe he was thinking about Dalton, and the time he’d spent there, and how far away the place seemed now. Or maybe he had suddenly remembered something else, something that wasn’t even a little bit related to Blaine…

“Can I ask,” Kurt finally begun, his voice quieter than before, “What were you going to tell me, at Dalton? When you approached me at my graduation?”

Blaine hesitated for a long moment, thinking back to that summer all those years ago, in Italy. Two boys meeting in a park, not entirely unlike this one. Hide and seek.

“There was something I wanted to show you,” Blaine finally settled on, because he still had that photograph, still kept it in his oldest album. “And there’s another story to go with it, but… I think you should see it, first. And I didn’t bring it with me today.”

“Really,” Kurt said, looking almost doubtful. “Even though you came here specifically to tell me about all of this?”

“Well,” Blaine said, taking a deep breath before daring to continue. “I suppose I might have been hoping that I could persuade you to let me see you again, sometime? To tell you the last part.”

“Oh,” Kurt said, his tone just a bit more hesitant than before. “That’s… What are you saying?”

“I just… I’d like to actually get to know you, Kurt.” Blaine offered him a tentative smile. “I’ve sort of wanted to have a real conversation with you for a very long time, now. And the thing is, the only reason I never actually tried at any point is because I assumed you wouldn’t be interested. I thought I’d just be bothering you, that lots of people try to get close to you because of who you are. But lately, I’ve come to realize that if it wasn’t for who you are, I would have tried to actually talk to you a long time ago. And that doesn’t feel quite right, to me.”

“I see,” Kurt said, and now he was looking a bit more relaxed. “You think you would have talked to me at Dalton?”

“For sure,” Blaine said immediately, thinking back on the exceptionally cute transfer student he had spotted across the cafeteria. “I think we have some things in common. I think we could have become friends.”

“Interesting theory.”

“You don’t have to say yes,” Blaine was quick to let him know. “I imagine you’re a very busy person. I’m already so thrilled that I was able to meet you here today. And more importantly, that Mike didn’t arrest me on the spot when he realized just how unlikely this series of coincidental meetings has been.”

“Mike does get kind of overprotective, sometimes,” Kurt told him, before quickly continuing. “So, that’s what happened last time? At your chocolate shop? He found out about all of this?”

“Not _my_ shop. But yes. He asked where he’d seen me before, so I told him. It seemed like the smartest thing to do.”

“That’s very sensible of you,” Kurt agreed, smiling just a little. “Let’s just say that I’m very glad I’ve got Mike on my side. He’s a great guy, but he’s also kind of lethal.”

“Yikes. I guess I’ll have to be careful to never actually upset him.”

“Good thinking,” Kurt said, sounding a little bit more casual as he continued. “So. Are you doing anything, this afternoon?”

“No,” Blaine said, just a bit too breathlessly. “Why?”

“My friends will be here soon,” Kurt reminded him. “For frisbee. Can you stay?”

“Sure,” Blaine agreed immediately. “Absolutely. I suck at frisbee, though.”

“No worries,” Kurt said, grinning. “So does Mercedes.”

It turned out that Kurt’s friend Mercedes really did suck at frisbee. She missed most of the ones flying her way, and landed most of her own ones several metres away from the intended person. Kurt’s other friend, Artie, even ended up fetching most of Mercedes’s frisbees for her. Which was saying something, considering that he did so in his wheelchair.

“So how do you know Kurt?” Mercedes wondered when they were taking a break, facing Blaine with a surprisingly inquisitive look. “College?”

“Blaine went to Dalton,” Kurt supplied before Blaine had the chance to respond. “We didn’t know each other very well, but Blaine was kind of famous around that school. He’s a very talented singer.”

“I’m really not all that,” Blaine quickly protested. “I was just in glee club, is all.”

“Sounds fun,” Artie said, his tone kinder than Mercedes’s. “I guess you moved here for college?”

“That’s right,” Blaine replied, smiling gratefully towards Artie. “So, how do you two know Kurt?”

“We’re all from Scherzia, and Kurt and Mercedes went to the same high school, before Kurt moved to the US,” Artie explained. “Besides, our families have been friends since we were kids. We all spent a lot of time together, growing up.”

“I see,” Blaine said, looking at them both a bit more curiously than before.

“Mercedes is a Duchess,” Kurt told him, before Blaine could think of how to ask. “Artie is, well… Technically, you don’t have a title.”

“That’s true,” Artie said, and for some reason he was glaring at Kurt. “But only because someone simply refuses to give me a knighthood…”

“You can make people knights?” Blaine asked Kurt, not sure if he ought to be surprised. Probably not.

“Only those who actually deserve it,” Kurt said, grinning towards Artie. “Maybe some other time?”

“That’s what you said last week!”

“Ask me again next week.”

They played some more frisbee after that, and Blaine was pleased to say that he seemed to have gotten a little better. Or maybe Kurt was just paying more attention when catching the frisbees Blaine threw. Either way, it was a pretty good feeling.

Before Kurt left, he gave Blaine his phone number.

“So you can let me know when you feel like showing me whatever it was you were going to show me back at Dalton,” he explained, and there was something rather cheeky about his smile.

“Or you can give him a call, either way,” Mike (who had since reappeared from behind the shrubbery) filled in. “In fact, you should.”

“One more word and you’re fired, Mike,” Kurt snapped, yet for some reason he didn’t sound all that angry. “Come on. We’re leaving.”

“I will call you,” Blaine still told Kurt, knowing his voice was anything but stable. “Definitely.”

Kurt nodded once in response. And then he left.

Mike flashed Blaine a quick thumbs up before he followed.

 

*

 

“Amazing,” Tina said, staring wide-eyed at Blaine. “ _Amazing_. Can you call him right now?”

“I literally just said goodbye to him at the park, Tina. It’d be completely ridiculous to call now. I should wait about a week, at least.”

 

*

 

The next evening, Blaine found himself calling Kurt for the first time.

Kurt picked up on the second ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi, this is Blaine. From yesterday...?”

“Oh, hi! Hi.”

And maybe Blaine was imagining things, but didn’t Kurt sound just a little bit… Unsettled?

Or nervous?

“Is this a bad time?”

“Not at all. Now’s great, actually. I was hoping to talk to you soon.”

“… really? Why?”

“Do you have any plans for Wednesday?”

“No,” Blaine said, mentally rearranging his schedule. “I’m free.”

“Great. See, me and Artie were going to see The Magic Flute, but it turns out he can’t make it.”

“The Magic Flute?” Blaine repeated. “As in, the opera?”

“Exactly.” Kurt cleared his throat. “So I have a spare ticket, but… Maybe it’s not your thing?”

“Are you kidding?” Blaine asked incredulously. “That sounds so amazing. Are you sure it’s all right if I come along, instead?”

“Of course. So, the performance starts at half past seven. See you out front half an hour before?”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Great. Can I reach you on this number?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

 

*

 

It was Blaine’s first time at the opera, but of course far from his first time at a theatre. So when he stepped into the London Coliseum with Kurt, he was a bit surprised to find that he didn’t feel at all out of his element. The regal, almost majestic interior of the theatre was beautiful, but it didn’t overwhelm him. There was even a familiarity as they went through the motions of getting in place for the performance. Ticket booth. Wardrobe. Finding their seats in the rows upon rows of velvet covered chairs.

Once Blaine realized that their seats were actually located in a private box, however, he did find himself a little bit intimidated.

“These boxes have wheelchair accessibility,” Kurt told him, because apparently he felt that their seating required an explanation. “Last time I went, we had tickets for the lower circle.”

“Have you been many times? To see opera?”

“I like to go when I have the chance. We used to go every year to the opera in Milan, when I was younger.”

“I’ve been to Milan,” Blaine said, before he could think to stop himself.

“Really?” Kurt said, sounding far too curious for Blaine’s liking. “When? For how long?”

“We went for about three weeks, for a vacation,” Blaine told him, hoping that Kurt wouldn’t notice which part of the question he had chosen to ignore. “I have some family there, on my mother’s side. I actually know a little bit of Italian, too.”

“Is that so?” Kurt said, quickly continuing. “ _Come stai_?”

“ _Bene, grazie_ ,” Blaine replied, only just getting the syllables right. “You speak Italian?”

“It’s actually one of the languages spoken in Scherzia,” Kurt explained, and for some reason he looked vaguely pleased. “The official language is German, but Italian is almost as common. I think you’d find that even a little bit of Italian is very useful in Scherzia. If you ever came to visit.”

“Really,” Blaine said, trying not to think too carefully about whether or not that had been an invitation.

“There’s actually an ongoing discussion about whether or not both German and Italian should be considered official languages,” Kurt continued, successfully regaining Blaine’s attention. “And actually, I think they probably will be. Eventually.”

“Interesting,” Blaine said, finding that he actually meant it. “What do you think that’s going to depend on?”

“Well,” Kurt said, smiling a little as he continued. “I’d say it’s mainly a matter of who’s in charge.”

“… right,” Blaine managed in response, staring at Kurt and trying not to think to carefully about the kind of decisions he was going to spend his life making. Because that was definitely intimidating. “So, is German your first language?”

“I guess you could say I’m trilingual, since I’ve grown up speaking both German, Italian and English. Though for a long time I wasn’t half as proficient in English, since I didn’t hear it as much. I always spoke it with my dad, of course, because he is from the US, but it wasn’t until I went to live abroad that I really got the hang of it.”

_But you were definitely able to speak it at a much younger age_ , Blaine didn’t say. _You were practically fluent in English when you were seven. I remember._

“Do you ever get confused about which language you’re speaking?” Blaine asked instead, because even though it was a bit of a stupid question, it was still a better option.

“Sometimes,” Kurt said, grinning. “When I’m really tired. Or really drunk.”

Blaine tried to imagine Kurt – the polished, poised, perfectly composed prince – really drunk. He failed.

“The Magic Flute happens to be a German opera,” Kurt continued, glancing sort of apologetically towards Blaine “If we’d had the time, I could have explained some of the plot for you. Because I think a lot of this isn’t going to make any sense. At all.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Blaine was quick to reassure him. “I have to say that I’m very confident in my ability to enjoy feather-clad sopranos bolting out staccatos in German. Even if the storyline escapes me entirely.”

“That is definitely a fortunate ability to have,” Kurt said, and for a moment Blaine thought his smile looked almost fond, “Nine-year-old me would have paid for such a super power.”

“Nine-year-old you didn’t like opera?”

“Nine-year-old me had seen Tristan and Isolde three times, Blaine. It’s in very old German, and it’s so, _so_ long. I suppose the music is kind of impressive, but at that age I unfortunately didn’t have the sense to appreciate it as I should have.”

“But now you’re making me nervous,” Blaine said, trying for a smile of his own. “This is a test, isn’t it? You’re going to judge how mature I am by my ability to appreciate fine art.”

“Not at all,” Kurt said immediately, and there was a mischievous glint in his eye. “But you should know that if I would ever judge you in any way, I wouldn’t go easy. I’ve got standards.”

“I see,” Blaine said, grinning slightly. “No more Mr Nice Prince?”

“You… You did _not_ just say that,” Kurt said, laughter colouring his voice. “I ought to have you imprisoned.”

“You can’t do that,” Blaine said immediately, before pausing. “Or, well. At least not in Britain, I don’t think?”

Just as Blaine said that, the lights in the theatre darkened.

“Oh, look,” Kurt said, his tone just a little bit too breezy as he turned to face the stage. “It’s starting.”

“Are you seriously not going to answer that question?”

“Ask me during intermission. I might tell you.”

 

*

 

“But, what about the prison thing? Did he actually not tell you? Not even after the performance was over?”

“No, Tina, he didn’t tell me. But were you even paying attention to the rest of it? Like, the part where he asked me to go horseback riding with him, next Sunday? He wants to meet up again!”

“The part about my best friend potentially getting imprisoned was obviously more important,” Tina said, giving Blaine a stern look before returning her attention to the small bag of chocolate truffles that she had just bought. “You have to ask him next time. Just to be sure.”

It took Blaine a moment to come up with a response to that. Because Blaine couldn’t recall if Tina had actually said anything about _best_ friends, before. He didn’t think so. They’d only known each other for about a year and a half, so he should definitely have remembered if it had come up at some point.

It had a nice ring to it, Blaine thought. Best friends.

“I don’t think you need to worry about me,” he finally said, smiling a little towards Tina. “Kurt is really nice.”

“You keep saying that a _lot_ ,” Tina pointed out, grinning towards Blaine. “In case you hadn’t realized.”

“I’ve realized,” Blaine admitted, reluctantly. “And I’m trying not to think too much about it. I can’t… I don’t want to screw this up, you know? Whatever this is. I don’t want to read too much into anything, or get my hopes up. Kurt’s great. Let’s leave it at that, for now?”

“Fair enough,” Tina allowed, popping another chocolate into her mouth. “So. How much experience do you have, with horseback riding?”

“None, actually.”

“Wait. This will be your first time?”

“Exactly.” Blaine decided he was allowed to have a chocolate truffle, too. Even though he was still on the clock. “Kurt said it was fine, though. We’re going trail riding, and apparently the horses are super calm and basically just follow each other along the path. I’m actually not too nervous about the riding part.”

“Well,” Tina said, her tone just a little bit too amused. “Good luck. I hope you don’t fall off.”

 

*

 

Blaine did not fall off his horse. As it turned out he wasn’t the only beginner in their group, and the instructor wisely decided to take things very slowly. They had quite a pleasant ride through a foresty area near Dulwich. Blaine spent the first half of it nervously clutching the front of his saddle while trying to get used to the horse’s movements, and the second half shamelessly enjoying the view of Kurt’s elegant form on the horse in front of him.

Blaine was starting to realize that he liked this Kurt, the Kurt who was calm, and confident, and just so in his element. Then again, Blaine wasn’t sure that he could name a version of Kurt that he _didn’t_ like. He thought the Kurt who finally came back to the chocolate boutique had a really cute smile. He thought the Kurt who went with him for coffee the week after and couldn’t resist getting two slices of cheesecake was adorable. And he thought the Kurt who met up with him for drinks one Friday night, wearing a dark shirt with two buttons undone, tight jeans and his hair expertly coiffed, was pretty much perfect.

Blaine got back to his and Tina’s apartment quite late that night. He went straight to bed, trying not to think too much about anything at all. Especially not silly questions like exactly how bad he had it for Kurt already, or whether or not there was even the slightest chance that he would come out of this with his heart intact.

Maybe he should have been more honest with Tina, after all.

And, more importantly, with himself.

A few hours later, Blaine woke up from the sound of his cell phone ringing.

“Good morning, little brother,” Cooper greeted him. “What do you know about the sun?”

“It’s bright.” Blaine stifled a yawn, using his left hand to shield his eyes from the very annoying morning light already flowing through his window. “Why are you calling so early?”

“Not the actual sun, Blaine. I’m talking about the publication.”

“Oh. The magazine?”

“Tabloid, is more like it. I’m going to cut straight to the chase here, okay? You’re in it.”

“I’m _what_?”

“In it. Along with a young gentleman who’s apparently a king to be. Since when are you dating a prince, dear brother, and just when were you planning on telling me?”

“It wasn’t a date.” Blaine quickly sat up, a feeling of dread slowly spreading through him. “Is that what it says? What else did they write?”

“It’s on their website, you can read it for yourself. Front page.”

“Right.” Blaine was already starting his computer. “How long has it been up?”

“A couple of hours. I’m not sure if it’s going to be in their printed paper, but I’d guess so. It’s gotten a lot of hits. I only found out because our cousin Everett sent me a text to ask if that’s you.”

“Shit,” Blaine muttered, clicking his way onto the website, where a slightly blurry picture of him and Kurt (and Mike) leaving the bar greeted him. “ _Shit_.”

It wasn’t an awful picture, exactly. They were just walking. It could have been worse, could have been made to look differently. The headline, however, made Blaine’s stomach turn. _Party Prince on Hot Date? Exclusive pics from Kurt’s wild night out with new boyfriend. ‘Controversial move by gay royal’, says expert._

“I thought you’d like to know.” Cooper’s tone was unusually kind. “They haven’t identified you by name. At least not yet.”

“Right.” Blaine took a deep breath, still staring at the picture, at the hint of a smile on Kurt’s face. “Thank you for calling. I’ll just… I suppose I’ll have to see what happens.”

“I’m sure it’ll blow over, soon enough. They’ll find someone else to write about.”

“Right. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Sure. Call me if you need anything, yeah?”

“I will.”

Blaine hung up.

For a couple of minutes, he allowed himself to just sit there, staring at the article. Then he forced himself to get out of bed, shuffling out into the kitchen area. A cup of coffee definitely couldn’t make things worse.

Once he came back to his bedroom, there was a text from Kurt waiting for him.

_Can I call you right now?_


	3. Chapter 3

Blaine didn’t text back. He called Kurt first, instead.

Kurt picked up almost instantly.

“Blaine?”

“Kurt.” Blaine took a deep breath, trying not to sound too nervous. “I’ve seen the article.”

“Which one?”

“… there’s more than one?”

“It’s in The Sun as well as The Daily Mirror,” Kurt informed him, his tone almost unfairly calm. “Not to mention every major publication in Scherzia.”

“Wait, really?”

“The angle they chose for this story makes it very… It’s of great interest, on a national level.” Kurt still sounded calm. Except that there was a slight annoyance in his tone, too. “We’re trying to figure out whether or not I should make a statement. I think it’ll just complicate things more, but my PR team gets the last word on these things.”

“You have a PR team,” Blaine said, before he realized that he didn’t feel too surprised. “Do you have your own make up team, too?”

“Maybe.” Blaine could actually hear the smile in Kurt’s voice. It made Blaine smile, too. “But enough about me. How are you doing?”

“I think I’m very okay.” And he was. Just hearing Kurt’s voice again had somehow put things into perspective. “I’m not panicking, or anything. I made coffee.”

“That’s good.” Kurt paused for a moment. When he continued, he was speaking a bit faster. “So, I’m going to hand you over to Mike for a moment. He has a few things he needs to go over. Don’t hang up when he’s done, okay? Because there’s something I think you and I should talk about.”

“Sure,” Blaine agreed, and suddenly he was nervous again. “Is Mike angry?”

“Mike’s grumpy. He was supposed to have the day off.” Kurt’s voice was gentle as he continued. “No one is angry with you, Blaine. None of this is your fault. Okay?”

“Right. Okay.”

“Good. I’ll hand over to Mike, now.”

For a moment, the line went quiet. And then Mike’s tired voice was heard.

“Morning, Blaine. I hope you got more than three hours of sleep. Unlike me.”

“My brother called me around eight,” Blaine told Mike, trying not to feel too guilty about, well. Everything. “I guess someone woke you up around six?”

“Five forty-five on the dot.” Mike really didn’t sound that annoyed, Blaine belatedly realized. It was more like he was resigned. “Have you been contacted by anyone else, today?”

“No. Except for my brother, who had happened to see an article. But he’s the only one, so far.”

“Good,” Mike said, and when he continued his tone was just a little bit more formal. “So, here’s the thing. We think it’s very likely that the press will figure out who you are quite soon. And we think it’s very unlikely that they wouldn’t try to contact you. Which is why I have to ask you to not speak to any journalists about this. They’ll probably want you to talk about Kurt, and the nature of your relationship, and to give more details about what happened last night. We’d like you not to give any comments to the press about anything. Could you try to do that?”

“Absolutely.” Blaine was nodding firmly, even though he knew Mike couldn’t see him. “I really don’t want this to become an even bigger issue, for anyone. Especially not for Kurt.”

“Great.” Mike sounded tentatively pleased. “So, please don’t answer any calls from unknown numbers for a while. Also, if you could stay in today, that would be great. We’ll be keeping an eye on your building in case reporters will gather outside. They might, in the next few days, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

“Right.” Blaine tried not to think about his schedule for the next week, about the classes he really needed to get to. It would have to work out, one way or another. “I have nothing planned today except studying, so I’ll just stay here. Should I let you know if anything changes on this end?”

“That’d be great. I’ll text you my number, and you can text or call if there’s any developments.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Thank you, Blaine.” Mike’s voice was a little less official as he continued. “You should know that we’ve been preparing for this for several years. This is the first time that anyone’s managed to get a shot of what looks like Kurt out with a boy since Kurt came out. It was bound to happen sooner or later, and it just so happens that it was you. We’re going to do everything we can to make this easier for you, so if there’s anything you need help with, don’t be afraid to let me know. Okay?”

“Right. I will.”

“Good. I’m going to hand the phone back to Kurt now. Have a good day, Blaine.”

There was a longer moment of silence this time, before Kurt’s voice was heard. Except that it wasn’t quite silent. There were the sounds of a few footsteps, and something that creaked. Almost as if Kurt had moved into a different room, before he spoke to Blaine once more.

“Hi again.”

“Hello, Kurt.”

“So.” Kurt was sounding just a little bit less calm, than before. “I’d like to try and be really honest about something.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Kurt paused for just a moment, before continuing. “I like you, Blaine.”

“You… You do?”

“Yes. I really do.” Kurt didn’t give Blaine the chance to respond to that. “For a lot of reasons, which we can get into later if you want. But here’s the thing. I’ve been thinking for a while now that if I would actually ask you out, I’d be putting you in a very complicated situation that you’ve done nothing to deserve. And I didn’t want that, for you. But now, it’s… Well. It’s already complicated, isn’t it?”

“You could say that.” Blaine wasn’t sure whether or not he should be smiling, just yet. But he was. “It’s not your doing though, Kurt. It’s not. And I don’t think… I’m glad we’ve gotten to know each other. I wouldn’t have wanted to change that.”

“Okay.” Kurt sounded a little more confident as he continued. “So. Would you like to go on an actual date? With me?”

“I would really like that, yes. Definitely yes.” Blaine was full on grinning now. “Wow. I wasn’t expecting this at all.”

“You weren’t? And here I thought I’d been completely obvious.”

“No, I really wasn’t sure of how you felt. Not to mention that I didn’t know whether or not it would be okay for you to just ask someone out? All things considered.”

“I’m allowed to do that,” Kurt told him, and Blaine could hear him smiling. “It’d be a different matter if I was proposing, or something. Which I’m not. It’s okay for me to date.”

“I see,” Blaine said, still giddy. “That’s great. Really great.”

“One thing, though,” Kurt continued, speaking a bit slower. “We can’t really tell people that we’re seeing each other. It’s all right for you to tell your family and a close friend or two, but I can’t go public with this right now. I hope you can understand that.”

“That’s… I guess that makes sense.” Blaine tried his best to actually think about that, despite how his mind was still spinning from, well. All of it. “I suppose there would be an even bigger commotion, if you were to officially announce it? And actually, I… I don’t think I’m prepared to handle something like that, at the moment.”

“You don’t have to be.” Kurt’s tone was gentle. “I’m not expecting you to be. I just hope it won’t be too difficult for you, to not let everyone know? We’re essentially going to have to pretend that we’re just friends. For the time being.”

“Okay. I think I can manage that.”

“Thank you, Blaine.” Kurt sounded very relieved. Almost too relieved for Blaine’s liking. “This is one of those things that I really didn’t want to make you go through. If you’d go out with anyone else, you wouldn’t have to do this. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“You don’t have to make anything up to me,” Blaine replied, speaking firmly. “I don’t want to go out with anyone else, Kurt. I just want you.”

“See, this is why I first started to like you,” Kurt said, and Blaine much preferred the warmth in his voice, now. “You’re so sweet. My mother would have adored you.”

“Do you know when you did start to like me?” Blaine dared to ask. “You don’t have to answer that, if it makes you uncomfortable, but… I’ve liked you for quite some time, now. And I’ve been so curious.”

“I can answer that, but you’re going to have to wait a little longer.” Kurt’s tone was teasing. “Because I’m not doing all of this over the phone. Ask me again when you see me. And don’t think I won’t throw the question right back at you.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, and now he was smiling again. “Kurt, when can I see you?”

“Soon,” Kurt replied immediately, before pausing. “Just… Probably not for a few days, at least. It’d be better if the news story about us dies down a little, first. I’ll have to talk to Mike. In fact, I’ll have to talk to Mike about a lot of things. But we’ll figure this out, okay? I promise. Just give me some time.”

“That’s all right with me,” Blaine reassured him. “It’s not like I don’t trust you, Kurt. Just let me know when things have calmed down.”

“I will, Blaine. Thank you. I’m going to have to hang up now, we’re about to have a meeting. Can I call you again tonight?”

“Please do.”

“Okay. Take care until then, Blaine.”

“You too.”

Kurt hung up.

For the second time that morning, Blaine found himself sitting on his bed for a few minutes, struggling to wrap his mind around everything that had just happened.

Once he finally made his way back out into the kitchen, he found Tina sitting at the table with bowl of yoghurt.

“You’re up early,” she noted, raising both eyebrows towards him. “How late were you back last night? Have you even slept?”

“For like five hours,” Blaine said, taking a seat in front of her. “I have something to tell you. And it’s important. And you can’t tell anyone else.”

“Oh?”

“I’m dating Kurt Hummel.”

 

*

 

It was one of the strangest weeks of Blaine’s life.

For anyone watching him from the outside, he was sure they wouldn’t have noticed much of a difference. He went to his classes, like always, and had his usual conversations with his classmates. He wasn’t quite focused enough to take notes, but at least he managed to answer questions when asked. One evening, he accompanied Tina to a poetry reading at her favourite coffee shop. And even though a lot of the attendees were definitely part of the tabloid’s general demographic, no one seemed to pay any particular attention to Blaine.

Which was good.

It had taken The Sun less than two days to confirm who he was, and after that there had been a second wave of articles popping up. Blaine had received an alarming total of twenty-seven phone calls from unknown numbers. He hadn’t answered any of them. And so far, no journalists had set up camp outside of his and Tina’s apartment complex.

All in all, Blaine thought, the whole situation was turning out to be completely manageable.

Except for one thing.

“Mike insists that it’s still too soon,” Kurt told him over the phone on Thursday evening, no small amount of irritation in his tone. “Says people will definitely approach if we’re out in public together. I’ve told him that I’m going to fire him as head of security, but unfortunately he doesn’t believe me.”

“That sounds a little drastic, in my opinion.”

“I can think of several ways to justify it,” Kurt muttered, before he sighed. “I just want to see you, Blaine. This is getting ridiculous.”

“It is, a little bit,” Blaine agreed. “Would it be easier to arrange if we weren’t in public?”

“Maybe. Did you have something in mind?”

“It might not work,” Blaine said, trying not to sound too nervous as he continued. “But I was thinking you could come here? Maybe. Unless Mike thinks it’s a bad idea. The press should know where I live, after all, but it might still be smarter than going to yours.”

“That could be worth a shot.” Kurt sounded tentatively optimistic. “I’ll ask. And if Mike doesn’t agree, I’m calling my dad.”

“You think that’ll help?”

“Mike likes my dad,” Kurt explained with a sigh. “They get along so well, it actually worries me. But it’s useful, sometimes. I’ve had my dad talk Mike into letting me meet boys before.”

“… that _really_ doesn’t sound like very dad-like behaviour.”

“My dad has always been very supportive of me being more a normal teenager and less a politician in training,” Kurt told him, sounding rather smug. “He’s been known to argue for my right to stay out late, and go to parties. It’s all been wonderfully backwards.”

 

*

 

As it turned out, Kurt didn’t need to call Burt Hummel. Mike agreed. Which was why, the following Sunday, Blaine was sitting in the living-room, nervously waiting for the clock to turn one.

The doorbell rang at 12:53.

Kurt looked great. He was wearing dark jeans and a striking, red jacket, his hair parted to the side and slightly tousled. His smile was a little nervous, Blaine thought. Almost shy.

Blaine still felt a bit self-conscious in grey jeans and a plain, black shirt. He should have gone with a colourful bowtie. Or _any_ bowtie.

“Hi,” Blaine said, his tone a little shaky, not sure if he should offer Kurt a hand. Or if they should hug.

“Hello,” Kurt replied, his eyes flicking from Blaine’s eyes to his shirt and back again. “Can I come in?”

“Yes.” Blaine hurriedly stepped aside. “Of course. Please.”

Blaine closed the door as Kurt shrugged out of his jacket. The t-shirt he wore underneath was a little more casual.

“You look great,” Blaine still told him, because he did. “Mike didn’t think the jacket was too eye-catching?”

“If I’m going to get papped, I should at least look fantastic in the pictures,” Kurt said decisively, before smiling towards Blaine. “But thank you. I like you in that shirt, by the way. Black suits you.”

They made their way into the living room, with Blaine pointing out various things in the apartment and explaining them to Kurt.

“This is Tina’s room, that’s mine. The kitchen’s that way. This is a painting my brother gave me for my twentieth birthday. I don’t really like it, but it kind of works in this room. That’s a picture of Tina’s parents. And her ex, actually. I’m not sure why she hasn’t put that picture away.” Blaine took a deep breath. “I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“Just a bit.” For some reason, Kurt was smiling. “Is Tina home?

“She’s out shopping with some friends,” Blaine told him, making sure not to mention the fact that he had pretty much ordered her to stay out for the day. “Would you, um… Should we sit down?”

“Let’s.”

They sat down next to each other on the couch. After that, they were both quiet for a moment. Kurt was still looking around the room, his gaze lingering on Blaine and Tina’s bookshelf. Blaine, on the other hand, found himself watching Kurt. Because while he had met Kurt many times now, this was the first time that he had seen Kurt here, in his own apartment. In his home. And it was strange, Blaine thought, that Kurt – amazing, extraordinary Kurt – could fit in so well even in this decidedly unremarkable living room. Kurt, who was anything but ordinary. Everything but unremarkable.

And yet he still looked perfectly relaxed on a grey IKEA couch in this sparsely decorated student apartment.

“So,” Kurt said after a moment, turning to actually face Blaine. “It’s great to finally see you again.”

“Definitely,” Blaine was quick to agree. “It’s been such a long week.”

“The longest,” Kurt said, offering Blaine a smile. “But never mind that. We’re here now.”

“It’s actually a little strange, seeing you here,” Blaine admitted. “Strange, but nice. I could get used to this.”

“Your place is really cosy,” Kurt told him, his tone teasing as he continued. “I assume you always keep it this tidy?”

“Not quite,” Blaine told him sheepishly. “We may have cleaned up a little. But not just because you were coming.”

“Spring cleaning, I’m sure,” Kurt said, grinning. “I actually did a bit of spring cleaning of my own, yesterday.”

“That’s always good to get around to.”

“Oh, it was.” For some reason, Kurt was grinning even wider, now. “Because I actually found some things that I thought I’d left at home, in Scherzia. Things I’ve been meaning to go through for a while, now.”

“Really,” Blaine said, not sure if he ought to be worried. “What kind of things?”

“Postcards, mostly,” Kurt told him, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I brought one with me, today. One that I think you’ll find looks rather familiar.”

“ _No_ ,” Blaine exclaimed, disbelief colouring his tone. “No way you found that one, you must have received hundreds of cards! And I didn’t even sign it with my name.”

“Oh, I know you didn’t,” Kurt said, looking rather smug. “But you did say that you’d written about how we’d met before. How many people do you think wrote something like that?”

“… I guess not that many?”

“Just you, actually. Although I have to say, that was far from the most interesting thing on your post card. Do you remember what else you wrote?”

“Sort of.” Blaine was definitely blushing, now. “Can we just get this over with? Because I’m already embarrassed.”

“You don’t need to be, Blaine. I thought it was very sweet.” Kurt’s smile had softened, now. “And actually, I was hoping that you could show me something, first. Something that you apparently wanted to show me a long time ago?”

“Oh.” Blaine cleared his throat nervously, glancing briefly towards his bedroom. “You mean… At Dalton, at your graduation. The thing I never got around to letting you see?”

“Yes, Blaine, the thing you’ve conveniently forgotten every time we’ve met up since then,” Kurt reminded Blaine, something rather impatient in his tone. “And if you think I’ve gotten less curious about it the more I’ve gotten to know you, then I’ll have to say you’re wrong.”

“It’s just been… It never really seemed like the right time.” Blaine let his gaze drop down to his hands, shifting nervously on the couch. “Because it’s very special to me. And I guess I’ve been a bit scared, because of that.”

“Scared that I won’t like it?”

“That you won’t remember.”

“Oh,” Kurt said, furrowing his brows. “But, you said… You never knew me, at Dalton. We only spoke once. When did we… Have you ever been to Scherzia?”

“Never. But you’ve travelled quite a lot.”

“That’s true.” Kurt was looking a bit confused. “How long ago was this?”

Blaine smiled.

“A while,” he said, resolutely getting up from the couch. “Come on. I want to show you my room, anyway.”

It wasn’t the first time Blaine had let a boyfriend into his bedroom. Or well, technically it was the first time in _this_ bedroom, but the fluttering sensation in Blaine’s stomach was still decidedly familiar. Kurt, however, didn’t glance around himself as much as Marcus had, didn’t let his gaze linger on the bed for quite as long as Adrian. Then again, maybe that was because of the fact that Blaine had wasted no time in pulling out the old photo album from his shelf, placing it in Kurt’s hands.

“Page seventeen,” he said, letting his hands fall to his side. “Left hand corner.”

Kurt threw one last, curious glance towards Blaine, before opening the album, quickly turning the pages.

Once he got to the right page, he was quiet for a moment.

Blaine may or may not have held his breath.

“This… I think this is in Milan?”

“It is,” Blaine heard himself saying, his tone just a little bit shaky. “I was six. I suppose you were around seven.”

“I was,” Kurt said, his tone much more eager as he looked back up at Blaine. “And I think we played hide and seek?”

“Yes,” Blaine said, staring at Kurt, completely unable to help the smile spreading across his face. “We did. Just the one time. I remember that you found me kind of quickly.”

“Of course I did,” Kurt said, and for some reason he was starting to grin. “I know I had fun playing with you, Blaine, so don’t take this the wrong way, but… You kind of sucked at hide and seek.”

“I did not!” Blaine protested, surprised. “I found a place to hide with time to spare. Even though there was basically _nothing_ in that park except for grass, and more grass.”

“I’m not sure if I would call crouching down behind a patch of grass hiding, but…”

“I hid behind a tree! There was this one tree. Look, it’s even in the picture. Right there.”

Kurt looked down at the picture again, frowning sceptically at the sight of the so-called tree behind the young boys.

“We can call that a tree, if it makes you feel better,” he told Blaine, his tone just a bit too reassuring. “I’d say it’s more of a small bush, but maybe that’s just me.”

“Bushes aren’t that thick,” Blaine insisted, nothing if not stubborn. “My mom called it a tree, too.”

“And I’m sure your mom is quite the expert on vegetation,” Kurt told him, continuing before Blaine had the chance to respond. “Either way, this is actually really amazing. I can’t believe we met by chance so long ago. And so many times since then.”

“I know,” Blaine said, biting back another fact about the definition of a tree in favour of looking back down at the picture. “I never actually told Mike about this time. I figured there was no way he’d know I’d left this one out. And I kind of wanted to make sure I told you about our first meeting myself.”

“I’m glad you did,” Kurt said, looking back to offer Blaine another smile. “I sort of wish you’d actually told me this at Dalton, but at the same time… I’m glad I got to know you, before I found out. It’s even more special, this way.”

“I’m just happy you remembered,” Blaine told him honestly. “It’s one of my clearest memories from my childhood. And I know really liked you, right away, before I knew anything about you. Before we’d even talked. It’s a very happy memory.”

“Really,” Kurt said, closing the album and setting aside, his tone just a bit sweeter as he continued. “So… Is that for how long you’ve liked me?”

“I’m not sure if I’d go that far,” Blaine managed in response, his tone almost as steady as before. “It wasn’t really… I mean, I was six. I hadn’t thought about gay or straight, or anything.”

“All right,” Kurt said, unfairly calm as he took a small step closer to Blaine, reaching out his hand to graze his fingertips across the back of Blaine’s left hand. “What about in high school?”

“That’s… I guess you could say I had a crush.” Blaine swallowed. “A pretty big one.”

“Even when you were with Adrian?” Kurt wanted to know, raising an eyebrow. “I remember he was quite the charmer.”

“Why would you even remember Adrian at all?” Blaine asked, very surprised. “We were only together for about two months, I think.”

“You two were the only openly gay couple in school at the time,” Kurt reminded Blaine, sounding perfectly certain. “He asked you out on Valentine’s Day in front of everyone. I think I was a bit jealous, of just how publicly he dared to do it.”

“I’m not sure if even Adrian would remember it that well,” Blaine told him, shaking his head a little. “We were never all that… He was cute, and it was so nice to be liked by someone again. But I can’t say that we ever worked very well together.”

“He never did seem quite like your type,” Kurt agreed, casually reaching out to actually lace his fingers together with Blaine’s. “So, Adrian wasn’t your first boyfriend?”

“No,” Blaine admitted, smiling a little as he continued. “I was with someone else about a year before you transferred. Marcus.”

“More your type?”

“A lot more, actually. He was sweet. Romantic. He’d bring me flowers, take me to the movies. We used to make out in the back of the library.”

“Blaine Anderson, you rebel,” Kurt exclaimed, grinning towards him. “But it didn’t last?”

“He graduated, moved to San Francisco,” Blaine explained. “I knew I was planning on going to London, or New York. It just didn’t seem like we’d be able to make it work.”

“I see,” Kurt said, tilting his head a little. “So, am I wrong to assume you’re a bit of a romantic, too?”

“You’re not wrong,” Blaine admitted, glancing curiously towards Kurt. “What about you?”

“Oh, I’m definitely big on romance,” Kurt replied immediately, his hand squeezing Blaine’s lightly. “Roses, candle light, really sweet post cards from secret admirers… Totally my thing.”

“Right,” Blaine said, unable to help his smile. “Is that your type, then? Really sweet guys?”

“I’m not sure if I have a type, exactly,” Kurt said, pausing for a moment as if to actually think about. “The guys I’ve been with… They were all quite different from each other. I think I liked each of them for very different reasons.”

“I see,” Blaine replied, not sure how to ask his next question. “Have you… Has it been long? Since you were with someone?”

“It’s been a year or two since I _dated_ someone,” Kurt said, and for once he looked a bit embarrassed. “There’s been a couple of guys, since I came to London, but… I haven’t been in a relationship for a while. Not since high school, actually.”

“So, before you transferred to Dalton?”

“Well,” Kurt said, clearing his throat a little. “Yes. And no. Not only before.”

“You don’t mean… At Dalton? There’s no way.” Blaine actually gaped at Kurt. “How did the whole school not know about that?”

Kurt grinned.

“My type, Blaine,” he said, his gaze flicking down to Blaine’s lips briefly, “Is probably boys who don’t kiss and tell. Let’s just say that I chose carefully.”

“You must have. Who was it?”

“Oh, never mind who,” Kurt said, taking another step closer to Blaine. “That was years ago. This is right now.”

“Well yes, but I’m pretty sure I knew about every gay boy in that school,” Blaine told him, still distracted. “In fact, I can count them on one hand.”

“No, you can’t. You definitely can’t.”

“Yes, I… Wait. Who?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Yes, I would!”

Kurt actually laughed, at that.

“Fine. Toby.”

“Toby? Wait… Toby Jackson? _Toby Jackson is_ _gay_?”

“Bi. Unless he’s recently converted.”

“That’s… Wow. When did he tell you?”

“Oh, he didn’t. I took a chance and kissed him, and it turned out he really liked it. Was a bit of a shock for him, actually.”

“That’s very proactive of you,” Blaine said, feeling quite impressed. “Smart move, dating a boy in the closet. That must have been very easy to hide from everyone else.”

“Extremely,” Kurt agreed, yet he was tugging impatiently on Blaine’s hand. “So, Blaine?”

“Yes?”

“Could you consider being quiet for just one moment?”

“Quiet? What do you-“

Blaine didn’t get to finish his sentence. Because Kurt chose that precise moment to finally lean in, closing the gap between them.

Later, Blaine would go over their conversation in his mind again, realizing that he shouldn’t have been all that startled when Kurt had kissed him. Because the kiss hadn’t actually been very sudden, all things considered. Blaine should have expected it. But as it was, he hadn’t. Which was why it took Blaine a moment to get past his initial surprise, and focus on what was actually happening. On Kurt, who was right in front of Blaine. So close to Blaine. Kissing Blaine.

 _Kissing_ Blaine.

Kissing _Blaine_.

It wasn’t a desperate kiss, not exactly. Instead, Kurt was kissing Blaine softly, unhurriedly. Carefully. As if they would have years and years of urgent, passionate kisses to come, and there was no need to rush.

God, how Blaine liked the sound of that.

Slowly, Blaine let his eyes flutter close. He tugged gently on Kurt’s hand in his, pulling Kurt just an inch closer to himself. Close enough so that he could sneak a hand around Kurt, placing it on the small of Kurt’s back. Yet he didn’t try to push Kurt closer, or let his fingertips wander below the hem of Kurt’s t-shirt, or caress Kurt’s back as they kissed. Instead, Blaine just let his hand rest there, just let himself hold Kurt, gently. As gently as Kurt was kissing him.

Blaine could feel Kurt’s lips smiling against his.

 

*

 

Four days and two at-home dates later, Mike had finally decided that it was all right for Kurt and Blaine to be seen in public again. They celebrated by meeting up for coffee after Blaine’s Thursday night shift at the chocolate boutique. And although Blaine had to keep reminding himself that he shouldn’t lean against Kurt, or hold Kurt’s hand, or tuck a strand of Kurt’s (impeccably styled) hair back into place, it was a relief to not have to plan for how to enter and exit the place separately, or sneak around. To not have to hide themselves completely.

At least now, they could hide in plain sight.

Still, it wasn’t like their first three dates in private had been disappointing. On their second date, they had snuggled up on Blaine’s couch and watched _The Notebook_. And talked. And not talked.

When Kurt came over for the third time, Tina had been home, too.

“It’s so lovely to meet you,” Kurt had greeted her, his smile perfectly charming. “Blaine’s told me a lot about you.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you, too,” Tina had replied, flashing a grin towards Blaine. “In fact, I’ve probably heard more about you than I’ve heard about your entire country.”

“ _Tina_.”

“What? It’s true!”

After Kurt had left that night, Blaine couldn’t help but think back on what Tina had said, about Kurt. And about Scherzia. And how right she actually was. Because Blaine really hadn’t told her a lot about the country Kurt was getting ready to govern. And that was probably because Kurt had never told Blaine very much about it, in the first place.

Kurt had talked about his childhood, and his closest family and friends. He had told Blaine about his classes, and they’d discussed their majors and what they liked about them. Yet besides from that, and the one conversation they’d had about languages in Scherzia, Blaine wasn’t sure if Kurt had actually mentioned the place at all.

Which wasn’t all that strange. Probably.

“It’s strange,” Tina said decisively.

“Is it?”

“Yes. Definitely.” Tina, who was standing in the kitchen mixing up a batch of pancake batter, paused in the middle of measuring flour to shoot Blaine a sideways glance. “I’m going to take a wild guess here, and say that Scherzia is definitely the most important thing in Kurt’s life. And I think there’s probably a ton of things going on in Scherzia that Kurt is currently involved in. Ridiculously important things. So, how come _you’re_ not hearing about that side of his life? It doesn’t quite add up, if you ask me.”

“I don’t think it’s that odd,” Blaine tried to argue. “You have to remember that Kurt and I haven’t been seeing each other for very long. I’m not sure if I should expect him to share actual state secrets with me, just yet.”

“But the fact that he never talks about Scherzia, at all…” Tina was frowning. “I can’t help but think that something’s up with that. And I don’t think it’s good.”

“I’m sure he’ll tell me if anything’s wrong,” Blaine said firmly. “I trust Kurt, Tina. I really do. He’ll tell me if something is going on, and if there’s anything I can do. I’m sure of it.”

“If you say so,” Tina said, yet he didn’t look entirely convinced. “I just hope Kurt actually trusts you in return, Blaine. Think about that.”

 

*

 

“Kurt? Can I ask you something?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“Why are there so many boxes out in the hallway?”

They were seated on a couch in what was apparently Kurt’s living room. It was the second time Blaine had come over to Kurt’s place, now. The first time, he had been surprised to find that Kurt didn’t actually live in the same building as Cooper, after all. Kurt’s dad and step-mother had lived there for a few months, when Kurt first came to London, but apparently they had now moved back to Ohio.

Kurt hadn’t really said if his family were going to live in Ohio indefinitely, or if they were planning on moving back to Scherzia eventually. Blaine hadn’t asked, either.

Kurt’s own, very spacious apartment was located in central London, so close to the Piccadilly tube station that Blaine didn’t even want to know the price per square meter. It was bright and airy, with high ceilings and tasteful decoration. There weren’t many of Kurt’s private things laying around the living room area. Blaine wasn’t sure if Kurt had tidied the place up before he came, or if he simply had enough storage to avoid cluttering the place.

Still, Blaine hadn’t been able to avoid noticing the towering pile of boxes stacked in the hallway inside Kurt’s front door.

“They’re post cards,” Kurt said in response to Blaine’s question. “I’m supposed to sign them all, and then get them sent back to Scherzia. I just haven’t had the time, quite yet.”

“I see,” Blaine said, trying to remember how many boxes there’d been. Six? Ten? “Must be a lot of cards.”

“I think there were supposed to be two thousand, this time.”

“… you’re kidding.”

“Sadly, I’m not.” Kurt half-grinned, half-grimaced towards Blaine. “They’re thank you cards to the staff and guests, for a banquet we’re holding in a few weeks. The project group likes to plan in advance.”

“So it seems,” Blaine said, not sure whether or not he could ask any questions. Although, if he didn’t make it an actual question… “A banquet, huh.”

“Yes,” Kurt said, quickly getting up. “Want some tea? Or coffee?”

“Coffee would be great, thanks.”

Blaine followed Kurt out into his kitchen, leaning against a counter as he watched Kurt load the coffee maker. Kurt’s movements were very exact as he measured the coffee beans. In fact, there was something almost graceful to it as Kurt carefully poured water inside the machine, clicking the start button with something of a flourish. Kurt’s hands were delicate, Blaine thought, with long, slender fingers. And his every gesture was so precise, so calculated. He seemed to radiate elegance.

Sometimes, Blaine thought it was a travesty that Kurt wasn’t pursuing a profession that involved an element of performance. Then again, it wasn’t entirely wrong to say that Kurt was preparing himself for an important part. One he was born to play.

At least, Blaine didn’t think that was inaccurate.

“So, I’ve been thinking.”

Blaine looked up from Kurt’s hands, a bit startled. He hadn’t even realized that he’d gotten so distracted. Kurt was watching him, and there was something rather unusual in his expression. Something hesitant. Or maybe even uncertain?

“You’ve been thinking,” Blaine repeated, curious.

“Yes. See, spring break is coming up. In a few weeks.”

“It is, yeah.”

Blaine was feeling a little confused. Kurt, meanwhile, was starting to look somehow determined.

“Do you have any plans?”

“No, actually,” Blaine admitted. “Or well, I had thought about going back to the US for a bit, but at this point it would make much more sense to just go back over the summer and actually have the time to see everyone. And Tina’s high school friends just cancelled their trip to Geneva, so I figured we could take the time to hang out some more together. Explore a bit more of London. Although I haven’t actually talked to her about it, yet.”

“Ah.” For some reason, Kurt didn’t look entirely satisfied with that answer. “And you don’t suppose that could be postponed…?”

“Maybe.” Blaine raised an eyebrow. “Did you have something in mind?”

“Well, it’s just occurred to me…” Kurt took a deep breath. “You’ve never actually been to Scherzia, have you?”

“No, I… No. I haven’t.” Blaine stared at Kurt, completely surprised. Where had this even come from? “You’re… Really? You want me to…?”

“I’d like to invite you,” Kurt said, and suddenly he was rushing to get the words out. “If you think it’s a good idea. Which I think it is. I usually have a couple of friends come over for break, so I don’t think this would attract too much unwanted attention from the press. And there’s so, _so_ much I’d like to show you, we could see all of my most important places and get waffles and everything. I’d love it if you came with me.”

“For spring break,” Blaine said, still processing. “You want me to come visit your country, for spring break.”

“Precisely.” Kurt was looking sort of unsurely towards Blaine. “Mercedes and Artie are going back too, so they’ll be around as well. And Mike, of course. I will have a couple of official obligations to take care of, but nothing that should take up too much of my time. A few meetings, some paperwork... Oh, and the banquet.”

“Right,” Blaine managed, trying his best not to feel overwhelmed. “Banquet?”

“It’s an annual thing, every spring. Lots of international guests, lots of food. A few speeches.” Kurt shrugged. “It’s tradition, and I think our neighbouring royals would be terribly disappointed if we ever decided not to put it on. But there’s not any specific purpose for it, other than keeping the status quo in our diplomatic relations.”

“But that wouldn’t be for longer than an evening, I suppose?” Blaine guessed tentatively. “Or are there any preparations you need to be involved in…?”

“None that I can’t make someone else do,” Kurt said, grinning. “So like I said, there’d be lots of time for us. To go sightseeing. And have waffles.”

“That actually sounds… Wait. Waffles?”

“Scherzian waffles,” Kurt said quickly. “With chocolate sauce. It’s a thing. You’ll love it.”

“I’m sure I will.”

“… so, you’ll come? I can take you?”

“Well, I guess we should look at flights,” Blaine said, smiling towards Kurt. “But yes. I’d love to come.”

“Great. Except…” For some reason, Kurt had started to grin again. “No one needs to book a flight, Blaine.”

“No? Are we taking the train?”

“No. We’re taking my jet.”

“Your… Really? You have your own plane?” Blaine gaped at Kurt. “No way.”

“I have my own _country_ , Blaine,” Kurt said, shaking his head. Yet he was still smiling. “I hope you can get used to the thought.”

“You know, sometimes it’s almost like I actually forget,” Blaine said, feeling a bit sheepish. “You’re just… You’re you. You’re you, so much more than you’re a crown prince. Sometimes I feel like the crown prince Kurt is someone else. If that makes sense?”

“It does,” Kurt said, firmly. And he was still smiling.

Yet he didn’t quite look at Blaine, as he continued.

“I wonder, Blaine, if you’ll still feel that way after spring break.”


	4. Chapter 4

“So do you even need to bring clothes, on this trip? Or does his highness have his own mall? Can I come?”

“Very funny, Tina.”

Blaine was standing in his bedroom, looking around at the complete mess of various garments scattered around him. None of them were actually placed inside the empty suitcase resting on top of the bed. Tina, meanwhile, was leaning against the doorframe, a fresh cup of coffee in her hands.

“If you’re going to stand there and watch, you might as well help me figure out if I own anything decent to wear at all. Because I’m starting to think I have no taste.”

“You have excellent taste,” Tina said firmly. “I just prefer mocking you to making productive contributions to your so-called attempt at packing.”

“Hey! I’ve opened my suitcase and everything!”

“And then you created a quite spectacular mess all around it.” Tina was grinning. “I’m impressed.”

Blaine sighed, sitting down on his bed and picking up the shirt closest to him. “Maybe this one?”

Tina wrinkled her nose. “Needs ironing. You do not want to pack anything that needs ironing.”

“You’re right.” Blaine sighed, laying down next to his stupid suitcase and shutting his eyes. “It’s hopeless. I don’t own any nice clothes.”

Apparently, that was the moment when Tina decided to take pity on him.

“Come on, it’s not that hard. You’ll need pants.” She walked across the room, picking up two pairs of jeans as she went. “Both of these are great, and then you’ve got to take the black ones, with silver buttons? Does wonders for your ass.”

“Thank you,” Blaine mumbled, actually opening his eyes. “Your right. Those would be great.”

“If course I’m right.” Tina rolled her eyes. “Okay, moving on. Shirts, a couple of different kinds, preferably in fabrics that don’t wrinkle too much. This navy one because it brings out the blue tones in your eyes. And that striped one is cute. Also, you’ll need bowties, both casual and upbeat ones, depending on the occasion. The striped shirt with the dark blue bowtie should count as semi-formal, which is good just in case, you know? And then I’d say a few t-shirts, since we’re talking spring in central Europe, not dreary London. Which means you have to bring this black v-neck. And that pink t-shirt, with princess Ariel, because it’s too cute.”

Tina unceremoniously dumped the pile of clothes she’d collected into Blaine’s suitcase.

“There. You’ve packed.”

“Tina, you are the best. Seriously.”

Tina shrugged. Yet she was grinning.

“How about you dress me for my next night out, and we’re even.”

“Deal.” Blaine sat up again, peering into his suitcase. “I guess I should fold these.”

“Definitely.” Tina sat down across from him on the bed, surveying the pile once more. “Oh, I almost forgot – you’ll need something much more formal, of course. For the banquet.”

“No, I… No.” Blaine laughed a little. “Tina, I’m not going to the royal banquet.”

Tina stared at him.

“You’re… Not?”

“Of course I’m not.” Blaine shook his head firmly. “There’ll be guests there. And cameras. Several whole TV teams worth of cameras, or so I’m told. Kurt and I are not dating publicly, you know.”

“But I thought, since you were both going to be in the country, and the timing was so good…” Tina frowned. “I was hoping to see you on TV.”

“Is this thing broadcast in England, too?”

“I think so? I mean, the British queen’s going and all. I think people will want to see it.” Tina shrugged. “At any rate, all the tabloids are gearing up to report on this. Last week The Sun had a list of best and worst Scherzian Banquet outfits through the years. As a part of their pre-event coverage.”

“… since when do you read tabloids?”

“Oh, only at the hairdresser. And the dentist. And I might have a digital subscription to The Daily Mirror, on my tablet.” Tina grinned sheepishly. “Strictly for your sake, of course. Someone’s got to keep an eye on the press. Just in case.”

“You know Kurt has a whole team of publicists for that, right?” Blaine pointed out, raising an eyebrow pointedly.

“And you have me,” Tina said firmly. “I’m the captain of team Blaine, it would seem. Although to be fair, I could use some more members.”

Blaine laughed a little.

“You know, maybe I should actually introduce you to David one of these days. You would get along so well, it actually scares me.”

“Sounds good,” Tina said, looking vaguely pleased. “He can be second in command, then. Take notes, run errands, that sort of thing. Help me keep this spectacle from boiling over.”

“It’s not a _spectacle_ , Tina. It’s my life. Thank you very much.”

“Right. Whatever you say.” Tina grinned. “Although to be honest, Blaine, I think it’s getting increasingly difficult to tell the difference.”

 

*

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, please observe that the captain has switched on the fastened seatbelts sign. Please fasten your seatbelts and return your seats to an upright position. All luggage must be stored under…”

“I can’t believe they’re repeating these messages even though there are only five passengers,” Blaine said to Kurt in a quiet tone.

Kurt smiled.

“International flight regulations apply to all aircrafts. Including those that land on private property.”

“Right,” Blaine said, glancing out the window curiously. “Private property. Your very own airport.”

“It’s more of an airstrip, really. And a garage.”

Blaine nodded, peering down at the rapidly growing runway below. There was a large, hangaresque building close to it, as well as what appeared like a small tower and a few flagpoles.

It sure looked like an airport to Blaine.

As the plane descended, Blaine leaned as far left as he could, trying to get a good look out of the plane window. He was sure he’d gotten a glimpse of the palace close by, and there was something that could have been a lake beyond it. He hadn’t been able to spot anything that looked like a park, though, or a garden. Kurt had said there would be palace gardens. Maybe they were in another direction?

The other passengers of the small aircraft were all distracting themselves with something else, in favour of looking out the windows. Then again, they should all have seen this view before. Probably many times. Mercedes, who was sitting in front of Blaine, was flipping through a magazine. Artie, sitting next to her, had his headphones plugged in and his eyes closed. Mike, who was sitting across the aisle from Kurt, seemed to have dozed off. And Kurt, who was in the seat right next to Blaine, almost seemed like he was looking out their window, too. Except that he wasn’t.

Kurt was looking at Blaine.

The flight from London had taken only two hours. Which wasn’t all that strange, considering that they hadn’t travelled a further distance than from Chicago to New York, but Blaine still found it a bit surreal. To think that in the past two hours, they had flown over land belonging to no less than three different countries. And now they were about to land in a fourth one, one that had different languages, and traditions, and culture than the London Blaine had started to know, the London they had only just left. So close, yet somehow, so far away.

Europe. So many cultures and people and languages, all within a travelable distance. What a notion.

“You know, I can kind of see why so many people spend a gap year backpacking through Europe,” Blaine said, turning around to find Kurt’s eyes already on him. “It kind of… It makes sense. You know?”

Kurt raised both eyebrows. “You want to go backpacking through Europe? _Now_?”

“No, I… No. Maybe never. But I think I can see the appeal.”

Kurt shook his head slowly. Yet he was smiling, too.

“Let’s start you off with just this one country, yeah? Welcome to Scherzia, Blaine.”

Blaine smiled. Widely.

“Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Less than half a minute after they’d touched down, Blaine found himself following Kurt off the plane. Once outside they were immediately reunited with their suitcases. Three cars were lined up by the edge of the airstrip, waiting for them. Mercedes and Artie, who were both heading home to their own families, got into one each. Kurt, Blaine and Mike climbed into the third one.

The car drove for only a few minutes, taking them through an area of greenery that Blaine definitely hadn’t been able to spot from the plane. There were large oak trees growing along both sides of the road, and a bit further away Blaine could see perfectly trimmed hedges, and a couple of fountains, and groups of bushes with lilac flowers. There were people out walking here and there along the trails that wove in and out between shrubberies and flowerbeds, and they all seemed to crane their necks to get a good look at the car as they drove past.

“The castle grounds are open to the public during daytime,” Kurt told Blaine, with a nod towards the closest group of onlookers. “We should be able to go for a stroll in the evening. Maybe tonight?”

“That sounds lovely.”

The car made a left turn, and continued forward along a different road. This one, too, was framed by trees on either side. However, Blaine wasn’t watching the greenery around them anymore. Because up ahead, the royal palace had come into view.

There was a long, wide staircase leading up to the main palace building, made of some kind of white-to-grayish stone. Marble, maybe? Was it even possible to make such a large staircase out of marble? There had to be fifty steps, at the very least. The building itself, however, had walls that looked white at first glance, but there was definitely a pink tone in there somewhere as well. The main building seemed to be shaped like a circle, with a majestic, dome-shaped structure on top of it. Two towers framed the building on either side of the dome. Each tower was topped off by a pointed roof, so shiny that they could have been made out of actual gold. And at the very top of the towers, there were two flags waving. They were both a light blue colour, with some kind of motif at the centre that Blaine couldn’t quite make out from this distance.

There were several large side buildings coming out from the main building, rectangular in shape and not quite as tall. They were made of the same façade as the main structure, yet their rows upon rows of tall, glass windows were distinctly different. Some of these buildings seemed to come with side buildings of their own, and Blaine wasn’t quite sure what was going on behind the palace, where rows upon rows of archways seemed to spring out. It sort of made Blaine think there had been additions to the palace built at very different times in history. Perhaps. Unless the architect had simply decided to mix things up a bit.

All in all, it was… Stunning. Immensely so. Blaine found his eyes drawn upwards again, towards the towers with gleaming roofs, and the flags that billowed in the wind.

“What do you think?”

Blaine looked over towards Kurt, to find that he was being watched intensely once more.

“It’s kind of amazing,” Blaine admitted honestly, because he figured Kurt must have discerned that much from his dumbfounded expression. “I’m a big fan of the colour of the façade, that hint of blink-and-you-miss-it pink? Very classy.”

Kurt smiled.

“The main, circular building is open to visitors. There’s a museum in there, with a gift shop and everything. So we actually rarely use this entrance.”

“Really,” Blaine said, feeling slightly confused. “Then, why did we drive this way? And why have we stopped?”

“Maybe Kurt just wanted to see that stupid look on your face,” Mike suggested, his expression unfairly smug.

“Quiet please, Mike.” Kurt snapped. Yet he was grinning. “All right. Let’s drive on.”

“So, will we be staying in a side-building?” Blaine wondered curiously.

“ _Wing_ , Blaine,” Kurt told him, something rather patient in his tone. “We’ll be staying in one of the wings. The east one is mine at the moment. I think it should be to your liking.”

“Right. East wing. Cool.”

Mike chuckled.

The car took them around the back of the palace, where they had to wait for some kind of clearance before driving through a series of archways. There, the car pulled up close to a much smaller stairway, this one with only three steps. It led up to a set of large double doors, and they, too, were framed by a regal-looking archway.

“So, this is the not-fancy back door?” Blaine asked, raising an eyebrow towards Kurt. “You know, I would have been plenty impressed by this entrance. Never mind the front.”

“Maybe I think you deserve the best of the best,” Kurt told him, eyes twinkling. “Now come on. Let’s go inside.”

They had barely taken two steps inside the palace, before they stopped once more. A woman wearing a chic black dress with a pleated skirt had stepped right in front of them. She was holding a clipboard and facing Kurt with quite a tense expression.

“Kurt. You’re back.”

Kurt smiled.

“Rachel. It’s good to see you.”

“Likewise. I trust you had a pleasant flight?”

“Yes. Is there anything you need from me, at the moment?”

“Yes. A great number of things.” Rachel clicked her tongue, visibly irritated. “We need to go over your schedule for this week, of course, and make sure you’re prepared for all your meetings. In addition, the banquet committee has requested that you go over the seating arrangement, and then there’s… Wait. Who’s this?”

She was staring at Blaine, both eyebrows raised. Blaine tried for a smile.

“This is Blaine Anderson,” Kurt said, sounding rather patient. “He’s a student in London, and I’ve invited him to join me here over spring break. Blaine, this is Rachel Berry, my invaluable PA.”

Perhaps Kurt had hoped that the compliment should have softened Rachel’s expression. Unfortunately, it hadn’t.

“I see,” she said, stiffly. “So, about your schedule. I think-“

“If you don’t mind, Rachel, I would much rather do this in the morning.” Kurt’s tone was firm. “Also, as I mentioned in my email last week, I would like to keep the meetings during this visit to a minimum. I trust you have looked things over?”

“Of course,” Rachel said, impatiently. “I’ve cancelled anything that seemed unimportant or just plain stupid, but we’ve gotten requests from two of the banquet delegations for a private audience with you. Which we can’t very well turn down.”

“I understand,” Kurt said, sighing. ”All right. So, two meetings?”

“Three.” Rachel pursed her lips. “The queen has requested an hour of your time. As soon as possible. Although I don’t know whatever for, because she wouldn’t say.”

“Right.” Kurt looked a bit thoughtful. “I suppose I’ll go see her first thing tomorrow?”

“It’s going to have to wait until Wednesday morning. The queen is travelling at the moment.”

“Wednesday? But that’s the same day as the banquet. Won’t she be terribly busy?”

“I suppose not. Otherwise she certainly wouldn’t have demanded to see you. For no apparent reason.” Rachel clicked her tongue again. “You know, I think it should be mandatory to specify an agenda when requesting a meeting. How else are you supposed to come prepared?”

“I have no idea, Rachel,” Kurt said, something rather affectionate in his tone, now. “Thank you so much. So, can we meet tomorrow after breakfast? To go over the banquet seating, and whichever delegations wanted to see me.”

“The Swedish and Austrian delegations,” Rachel rattled off, nodding. “Yes. That would be fine.”

“The _Austrian_ delegation?” Kurt asked, seemingly before he could stop himself. “Really?”

“Yes, I’m sure it was.” Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Unless you have any objections?”

“No, I… No. Of course not.” Kurt pulled off a smile. “So, can we go now? I’d really like to show Blaine around.”

“Yes. Of course. Blaine.” Rachel shot him another glance. “You know, he looks rather familiar. Have I seen him in the press?”

“Even if you had, it would be reason for you to speak of him in third person,” Kurt told her sternly.

Rachel didn’t reply. Instead, she merely raised her other eyebrow, too, before swiftly turning around, walking off. Sparing neither of them another glance.

For some reason, Kurt smiled, shaking his head as he looked after Rachel. Blaine followed his gaze, feeling a little bit weary.

“Rachel has never once approved of any one of my boyfriends,” was the first thing Kurt said. ”And I haven’t exactly told her I’m dating you, but… She knows me. Really well. I’m sure she could tell.”

“Just like that?” Blaine wondered, surprised. “She barely even looked at me.”

“Oh, she looked at you,” Kurt told him, something particular in his tone. “She’s curious about us, but perhaps a bit too proud to ask, I think. Although judging from her reaction, just now, I actually believe there’s a good chance she’ll warm up to you. Eventually.”

Blaine frowned.

“You really think so? Did you even listen to her?”

Kurt laughed.

“Me and Rachel actually went to high school together, before I moved to the US,” he explained to Blaine. “We were really close. I know her better than most people, and I’m very sure that she’s going to give you a chance, at the very least.”

“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it,” Blaine said, throwing another glance down the hall where Rachel had disappeared. “Isn’t it a bit… Strange? To have one of your friends working for you?”

Kurt shrugged.

“I trust her completely. And what’s more, she’s damn good at what she does. Turning her down from the job would have been madness. Now, let’s get all our things to the east wing before anyone else finds us, or we’ll never get around to that tour.”

 

*

 

The next morning, Blaine woke up next to Kurt in an enormous, ridiculously comfortable four-poster bed.

They had breakfast in Kurt’s own kitchen, in the east wing. Blaine wasn’t sure what he had expected for Kurt’s breakfast habits here in Scherzia, but it certainly hadn’t been Kurt himself donning an apron and starting to make scrambled eggs.

“I like cooking,” Kurt had told him between bites of toast. “It’s rewarding, because you get quick results from the work you do. There’s a lot of things in life that just don’t work like that, you know?”

After breakfast, Kurt had to leave for a bit to go and meet with Rachel. But not before he had kissed Blaine until Blaine’s mind was spinning in circles, his cheeks hot. Kurt, meanwhile, had looked unfairly calm when they broke apart.

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours, probably,” he’d told Blaine, reaching out to straighten his bowtie. “Don’t go wandering off too far, all right?”

“I might not even get around to leaving the east wing,” Blaine told him honestly. “It’s pretty gigantic, did you know that?”

Kurt laughed.

“I’ve noticed, Blaine. I’ll see you soon, all right?”

“Okay. Just let me know when you’re free.”

Blaine didn’t have any trouble occupying himself during the hour and a half Kurt was gone. He wandered around the east wing, admiring the paintings and portraits out in the hallways and trying not to look too curiously at all of Kurt’s belongings in his own rooms. After a while, he stumbled upon a library, filled both with books that must have been there for centuries, but also a few shelves of volumes that had to be more recent additions. Books on the history of human rights, on recent major scientific discoveries, on political commentary of the 20th century. And fictional literature, too. Classic Grimm fairy tales. Fantasy trilogies. Young adult romance novels. Divergent. A series of unfortunate events. The complete works of Roald Dahl.

When Kurt came back, he found Blaine curled up in an armchair, halfway through a worn copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

“That was always my favourite of his books,” Kurt told him, walking over towards Blaine with a small smile.

“Mine too,” Blaine said eagerly, setting the novel aside in favour of taking Kurt’s hand. “I mean, all that candy? Who could resist.”

“… I was thinking more of the magical idea of a golden ticket that can save you from all of your problems and grant you entry into some kind of utopian paradise. But I guess the candy is pretty great, too.”

“What can I say,” Blaine said, grinning sheepishly. “I’ve always had a weakness for chocolate.”

“Hold that thought,” Kurt said, squeezing his hand with a smile. “Let’s go for a drive, yeah?”

“Okay. Sure.”

To Blaine’s surprise, Kurt was the one who got into the driver’s seat this time. Mike followed them at a close distance in a separate car, leaving Kurt and Blaine alone in their vehicle. After a few minutes, they had made it past the palace gardens, and the airstrip, and were continuing along a countryside road.

“The palace is located a bit outside of town, obviously,” Kurt said, gesturing towards the open field next to them. “But it’s not that far to Armondille. We’ll be there in twenty.”

“Armondille… That’s the capital, right?”

“Well done, Blaine. I’m sure there’s a fourth grade geography teacher somewhere who is so very proud of you.”

“I’m sure my fourth grade geography teacher doesn’t even remember me,” Blaine told him, feeling quite certain. “But okay, Armondille… That sounds so much more French, compared to Scherzia.”

“Used to be a part of French territory, but that was several centuries ago now. Scherzia was originally a province of Switzerland.”

“I see. And then… Something happened?”

“War happened. As war often does.” Kurt shrugged. “The Scherzian revolution is a bit overshadowed by the French one, since it happened only a couple of years later. And the French revolution was basically a lot bigger. Plus, they actually beheaded their monarchs and put them out of power, which Scherzia obviously did not. But anyhow, the Scherzian revolution lead to our independence from Switzerland, in 1804. The sixteenth of September. So, that’s our independence day. We put on a parade and everything.”

As they drove towards Armondille, Kurt continued telling Blaine various facts about Scherzia. It seemed effortless to him, to rattle off dates and figures and historical events. Almost as if he knew them better than he knew his own name and age. Blaine tried his best to follow along, even though he knew he wasn’t going to remember even half of this by the time they arrived. But it was nice. Because listening meant that he got to watch Kurt talking, got to see the glow in his eyes. Hear the eagerness of his tone.

This Kurt, the Kurt who was confident, and passionate, and determined, was nothing short of enchanting.

After a while, they started to actually approach the city. Almost immediately, Kurt took a left, choosing to drive along smaller streets away from the bustling city centre. Mike’s car was still driving right behind them, changing directions each time they did.

“We’ll park here,” Kurt said after a while, taking a right. “Should be close enough. Let’s wait for Mike.”

Once Mike had parked and was waiting outside, Kurt and Blaine got out of their car to join him. Kurt then led them a little further along the street, until they reached a small restaurant on the left-hand side. A large sign out on the street advertised the fact that they served traditional Scherzian waffles.

With chocolate sauce.

Kurt smiled tentatively towards Blaine.

“It’s not a whole chocolate factory, but this place makes the best chocolate sauce. Plus, the waffles aren’t bad either.”

“That sounds perfect,” Blaine said, eagerly. “Can you get extra chocolate sauce? To go with your chocolate sauce?”

Kurt laughed.

“We can ask.”

When the three of them entered, the whole restaurant suddenly quieted.

Not that there were that many people in there. It was a small restaurant, after all, and some of the tables were empty. Still, the few guests who were present had all fallen silent. Their eyes seemed to be glued on Kurt.

Kurt took a deep breath. And then he smiled. Brightly.

Blaine frowned.

He didn’t know that smile.

Kurt swiftly stepped up to the counter, saying something pleasant in German to the man behind the register. Blaine had no idea what it meant, but whatever it was it made the man laughed heartily. Kurt laughed, too, and kept chatting with the man. Slowly, the other guests in the restaurant seemed to return to their conversations, only glancing at Kurt every now and then.

A moment later, Kurt turned to smile towards Blaine again.

“Let’s go sit down at that table in the corner,” he said cheerfully. “I’ve already ordered for us. You’re getting a ridiculous amount of chocolate sauce."

“Sounds good.”

They took their seats. The table next to theirs was empty, but the family two tables over had all turned around to get a better look at Kurt. Blaine did his best to ignore them. Kurt, meanwhile, looked almost effortlessly relaxed.

“I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned,” he told Blaine in a quiet voice. “But I’m a bit famous around these parts. Something about my parents.”

Blaine couldn’t help his smile, at that. Kurt smiled, too. And this time, Kurt’s smile was definitely familiar.

“Does it get to you?” Blaine asked him after a moment. “When people react to you that way. Does it bother you?”

Kurt was quiet for a moment. He seemed to actually think about the question.

“A bit,” he finally decided on. “But mostly, no. I’m very used to this. Grew up with it. I know exactly how to handle it, these days.”

“I could tell,” Blaine said, unsure of how to put what he wanted to say next. “But, you were… For a moment there, you didn’t quite look like yourself. If that makes sense?”

“Oh, it does,” Kurt said immediately. “It really does. I kind of slip into a certain mode, when I’m meeting citizens. I remind myself what I need to represent, and then I sort of just… Go for it? Smile a little wider, keep eye contact with everyone for a moment longer than I otherwise would. Sometimes I shake people’s hands, even when it doesn’t quite make sense. When it’s kids, I like to give them high-fives. It helps, to offer people something of yourself. Because believe it or not, that makes most people return to their own business much faster.”

“That sounds… Sort of like something Ronald McDonald would do, too. At least the high-fives.”

Kurt actually snorted with laughter. It was strangely undignified, Blaine thought, yet somehow also endearing. Blaine glanced around them briefly, to see if anyone else had reacted to it, and was surprised to find that no one was looking at them, anymore. All the other guests had miraculously returned their attention to their own food.

“I was actually never a big fan of Ronald McDonald,” Kurt told Blaine, before looking over towards the counter again. “Oh, look! Those should be our waffles.”

Kurt had been absolutely right. The chocolate sauce was to die for.

 

*

 

The next day, Kurt and Blaine spent the morning in the castle, going around to look at the other wings. They stayed clear of the south one, since that was where the queen had her private rooms, but Kurt showed him around the west and north ones. The west one was mostly unused rooms, but a lot of the original furniture and paintings were still in place. And while Blaine found that quite interesting, it couldn’t even begin to compare to the subsequent tour of the north wing.

“So, this is the throne room,” Kurt had told him casually, leading him into quite a large hall. “And that, right there, is the throne.”

“The throne,” Blaine repeated, staring at the tall and very beautiful chair at the other end of the room. “That’s… Wow. This really is it, isn’t it?”

The Scherzian throne looked quite regal, with intricate patterns carved into the wood and a large, golden emblem attached to the back of it. The seat itself was wide, with two armrests in some kind of darker wood on either side. However, there didn’t seem to be any padding. Come to think of it, there wasn’t even a cushion.

“It’s very elegant,” Blaine told Kurt, because he figured he ought to start with the pros. “But… It doesn’t really look all that comfortable? Is that really where you’ll sit, all day long?”

Kurt grinned.

“Actually, no. We only use this room for various ceremonial occasions. If you want to know how the day-to-day business is handled around here, we should probably head to the back.”

Kurt led Blaine through the hall, over to a small door right at the back of it. The door led out into a short hallway, where there were eight more doors that led into different rooms. Kurt opened the second door on his left, stepping through into what turned out to be a large office.

Placed right in the middle of the room was a modern desktop, the kind that can be adjusted in height at the push of a button. In front of it stood a regular office chair, one that was much more ergonomic-looking compared to the Scherzian throne. Along the walls, there were shelves full of books and folders, and a whole row of filing cabinets. In the back of the room were two large windows, which provided a quite pretty view of the palace gardens.

“Welcome to my office, Blaine,” Kurt said, making a general gesture about the room. “This is where the magic truly happens.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, looking around. “ _Oh._ This is where you will… Work?”

“This is where I already work,” Kurt told him, patiently. “Not a whole lot right now, of course, what with my being a full-time student and all. But I do a lot of reading and writing in here, during the times I’m back in Scherzia. I keep myself updated on important matters and occasionally assist the queen. In the future, though, I expect to spend a lot more time in here. You’d be surprised at how much paperwork it takes to keep a country up and running.”

“I suppose there’s a lot.” Blaine peered back out into the corridor curiously. “Does the queen have an office around here, too?”

“Hers is right across the hall. And Rachel’s office is two doors over. Mike has one of the smaller rooms down to the left, but he doesn’t use it all that much.”

“So this is where you all work, in a way,” Blaine concluded, turning back from the door again to get a better look at the room. “Did someone else have this office, before?”

Kurt smiled a little.

“My mother.”

“Oh. _Oh_.”

“It actually still reminds me of her. In a good way.” Kurt’s tone was calm. “I’m glad that it’s mine, now. That I will be allowed to continue the work she used to love so much.”

“That sounds… I guess that must be nice. For you.”

Kurt was still smiling.

“It is,” he said, not commenting on it any further. “Anyway. I’m starting to get hungry, and my first meeting of the afternoon is just an hour away. Should we get lunch?”

“Lunch sounds great.”

 

*

 

Kurt and Blaine had lunch together with Rachel and Mike. Kurt cooked again, this time making an omelette with mushrooms and cheese. Rachel spent the first ten minutes throwing suspicious glances towards Blaine, but perked up a bit when Kurt brought out a salad with pomegranate and grapes. Towards the end of their lunch, Blaine would actually have to describe her as civil.

They lounged for a bit in Kurt’s library after that. Kurt had a while longer before he needed to show up for his first meeting of the afternoon. This time, however, Blaine wasn’t going to be left wandering about on his own. Because Kurt had asked Artie and Mercedes to come over, to keep him company.

“You really don’t have to,” Blaine had said when Kurt had first suggested it. “I’m sure they’ll want to spend more time with their families, now that they’re here. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure Mercedes has had just about enough of all her relatives, right around now,” Kurt said, grinning. “And they’re coming over for the evening, anyway. Besides, I know they’d really like to get to know you better.”

Blaine had agreed, and so Kurt had invited them. They had both accepted. Yet now that they were on their way over, specifically to hang out with Blaine, Blaine was starting to feel a little bit nervous.

“There’s no need,” Kurt reassured him, his smile rather fond. “They liked you, last time you met them. They really did. This is going to be fine.”

“I just hope I don’t do or say anything stupid,” Blaine said, smiling only a little. “I remember Mercedes had some pretty tough questions for me, when we first met. I think she was trying to look out for you.”

“That was different,” Kurt said. “From her point of view, you had showed up out of nowhere for our frisbee session with nothing to recommend you except for your good looks and a vague high school connection to me. For all she knew, you could have been a stalker.”

Blaine furrowed his brows. “Technically, I did stalk you a little bit. Although for the most part it was entirely accidental.”

Kurt laughed.

“Just don’t tell her that, all right? You’ll do fine. Trust me.”

There was a knock on the door to the library.

“That’ll be them,” Kurt said, getting up. “Good. I’ll have time to say hello, before I have to get going.”

Kurt opened the door. And then he froze.

Outside of the door were neither Mercedes nor Artie. Instead, there was a young man, probably close to them in age. He was a little bit taller than Kurt, which was no small feat, and he had dark brown hair that looked like he’d put a good amount of mousse into it.

Blaine wrinkled his nose. He had always preferred gel.

The man smiled.

“Kurt,” he said, taking a small step forwards. “It’s a great pleasure to see you again.”

Kurt had taken a step back.

“Sebastian. I wasn’t expecting to see you, here.”

“I suppose I’m a bit early,” Sebastian conceded, his smile widening slightly.

“And in the wrong place,” Kurt said, sharply. “I’m very certain I was supposed to meet you and the rest of the Austrian delegation in the drawing room of the west wing. Not in my own library.”

“You’re right,” Sebastian said, sounding perfectly calm despite Kurt’s evident annoyance. “But I just couldn’t resist dropping by here, first. Wanted to see what you’ve done with the place. Although I’d have to say it looks about the same. Except… Just who do we have here?”

Sebastian looked over towards Blaine, both eyebrows raised. He wasn’t smiling. Blaine didn’t feel much like trying a smile of his own, either. There was something about Sebastian that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but whatever it was, Blaine didn’t like it.

“This is my friend Blaine, from London,” Kurt said shortly. “Blaine, this is Sebastian. Of Austria.”

Sebastian gave a low whistle.

“He’s the boy from the tabloids, isn’t he?” he said, grinning slightly. “It’s hard to tell, with his hair in such a state. I guess that’s why the paparazzi couldn’t identify him out during your waffle date the other day?”

Blaine wasn’t sure what to say to that. Except maybe _so what_ , or _fuck you_. Neither of those seemed entirely appropriate, though. Then again, there was something to be said for both. Both could work.

In the end, Blaine didn’t say anything in return. Because Kurt spoke first.

“That’s enough,” Kurt snapped. (Blaine wasn’t sure if he’d ever heard Kurt _snap_ , before.) “You and I should leave, for our meeting. We’ll be late.”

“Oh, but I’m sure no one would mind if we were,” Sebastian said, his gaze immediately flicking back towards Kurt. “Don’t you remember how much my mom likes it when you spend time with me? She still really adores you, actually. Keeps going on about what a nice young man you’ve turned into, and what a pity it is that you won’t be marrying Olivia, or Patricia. Don’t you think it’s hilarious, that she’s still trying to pair you off with one of my sisters?”

Blaine didn’t think that was very funny. Kurt didn’t look like he thought so, either. Yet even so, his expression had somehow shifted at Sebastian’s words. He looked almost thoughtful, now.

“Oh,” was the first thing he said, which didn’t give away much more than his surprise. “You… You still haven’t told her? Really?”

Sebastian made a face.

“Are you mad? I haven’t told anyone.”

Kurt’s expression softened, then. He was smiling a little, again, yet it wasn’t a happy smile. There was something more to it. Regret, maybe?

Or pity?

“Sebastian. I thought you were going to at least let your family know.”

“Yeah, well.” Sebastian shrugged. “Let’s just say it didn’t go according to plan.”

“Why not?”

“It’s simple, isn’t it?” Sebastian wasn’t quite facing Kurt, anymore. “We can’t all be brave, like you.”

They were both quiet for a moment. Blaine looked from one of them, to the other, desperately trying to make sense of the situation. He wasn’t entirely sure of what had just happened.

Although he did have something of a theory.

“We really should get going,” Kurt then said, clearing his throat. “I’d love to see your mom again. Are your sisters here, too?”

“Goodness, no,” Sebastian said, rolling his eyes. Unfortunately, he seemed to have recovered back into his disagreeable self. “Why would she drag them all the way to Scherzia, when there’s no eligible crown prince to marry them off to? No, they’re in the US for the time being. With dad.”

“I see. Is she expecting you to be engaged to a crown princess by the end of tomorrow night?”

“Probably. Did you know there are sixteen unmarried princesses on the guest list for your little get-together?”

“Is that including Estelle of Sweden?” Kurt asked, narrowing his eyes. “Because I don’t think she should count. Given that she’s four years old.”

“Try telling that to my mom.”

“Maybe I will,” Kurt said, actually smiling. “Shall we, then?”

“Sure.” Sebastian threw one last glance back towards Blaine. “He doesn’t talk much, does he?”

“ _Sebastian_.”

“Right, okay. I’ll be nice.”

“That’s all right,” Blaine heard himself saying. “You’re not the first to address me in third person, since I came here.”

“Let me guess,” Sebastian said. “That Berry girl?”

“You are insufferable,” Kurt sighed. “Now come _on_.”

“Okay, okay.”

Sebastian left the room first, giving Kurt the chance to turn towards Blaine once more.

“I’m… I’ll try to explain everything some other time, okay?”

“Sure,” Blaine said, glancing wearily at the still open door. “Are all your royal guests like that guy?”

“No,” Kurt said, looking like he wasn’t sure if he should laugh or not. “That’s just Sebastian. He’s… A handful.”

“I could see that.”

“I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Of course. Good luck with your meetings.”

Kurt sighed.

“Thanks. Looks like I’ll need it.”

Finally, he stepped out of the library, closing the door.

Ten minutes later, when Mercedes and Artie finally arrived, Blaine barely had the patience to wait past their initial _hello, nice to see you again, how are you_ , before he blurted out the question.

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about someone called Sebastian? Probably prince of Austria? Tall, dark brown hair, really unpleasant…?”

“What?” Mercedes asked, sharply. “Don’t tell me that rattlesnake somehow made it into the building.”

“I suppose his family has been invited for the banquet, like they are every year,” Artie said, his tone far more patient. “Come on, Mercedes, he’s not that bad.”

“Easy for you to say,” Mercedes muttered. “You didn’t know him when he was sixteen.”

“But you did?” Blaine wanted to know. “And Kurt?”

“We did, yeah. Same high school, back when Kurt was still in Scherzia.” Mercedes shrugged. “Sebastian was insufferable, of course. It seemed like no one had ever told him that being a prince didn’t automatically make him better than everyone else.”

“You’d think going to school with an actual crown prince would have given him some perspective,” Artie said.

Mercedes rolled her eyes. “I wish. It kind of had the opposite effect. Sebastian was always trying to compete with Kurt in one way or another.”

“That sounds very tiring,” Blaine observed.

“It was,” Mercedes agreed. Yet then she smiled. “Except, Kurt usually won. And I can’t say I didn’t enjoy watching that meerkat lose.”

 

*

 

The rest of the afternoon turned out to be quiet relaxing for Blaine, compared to how it had started. By the time they’d gotten past the topic of Sebastian, Blaine couldn’t quit remember why he had ever been nervous at the thought of spending time alone with Mercedes and Artie. Kurt’s friends were really very easy to talk to, and as it turned out, they were both quite funny, too. Mercedes had them all laughing uncontrollably at a completely spot-on imitation of Sebastian fixing his hair. In fact, Blaine was quite certain he wasn’t ever going to be able to look at a bottle of mousse the same way again.

After an hour or so, Artie suggested that they should get some afternoon tea.

“Right,” Blaine said, unable to help his smile “Sounds like the kind of posh thing we should be doing, given that we’re hanging out in a European castle and everything.”

“Oh, hush,” Mercedes said, not looking even a little bit offended. “Having tea and cake is nice, simple as that. Even you Americans must think that.”

“Sure we do. We just don’t refer to it as _afternoon tea_. Actually, I think that phrase might be trademarked by the British.”

“It is,” Artie filled in, his expression completely serious. “We’ve simply licensed it from them. You can do that, when you’re the heir to a throne.”

“It’s funny you should say that, Artie,” Mercedes cut in. “Given that _you_ still don’t have any kind of title, as I recall?”

“Ah,” Blaine said, his tone sympathetic. “No knighthood, then?”

“No,” Artie sighed. “But thank you both most kindly, for reminding me.”

They took their tea tray outside, sitting down on the palace grounds. Mercedes had invited Rachel to join them as well. It took Blaine a moment to realize that they must know each other from high school, too, since Kurt had apparently attended high school in Scherzia with both Rachel and Mercedes. Judging from the way Rachel and Mercedes immediately hugged each other, he figured he had been right.

“Sebastian is here,” Mercedes said as they sat down.

Rachel made a face.

“I know. I had to personally send him his invitation. On behalf of the Queen, of course, but still.”

“Poor you,” Mercedes said, patting Rachel’s shoulder. “I’m surprised you didn’t take the chance to let his particular letter get lost in the mail…”

Rachel grinned.

“Maybe next year.”

The four of them stayed out on the lawn until the afternoon had turned into early evening. By that time, Blaine had started to glance back towards the palace building. Kurt should be finishing his second meeting quite soon, shouldn’t he?

He had only looked over towards the palace three times, when he spotted Kurt coming out from a side entrance. However, Kurt wasn’t alone. Along with him, there was a middle aged couple and a small child. Kurt said something to them and shook hands with both of the adults, before waving them off.

As the small family strolled across the grounds, heading in the direction of the gardens, Kurt immediately headed over towards Blaine and the others.

Blaine got up to meet him halfway.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” was the first thing Kurt said to him. “Royal people can be such… Ugh. I’m exhausted.”

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Blaine said, glancing after the couple who had just left. “Did they give you a lot of trouble?”

“What? No. Not them.” Kurt smiled. “That’s the Swedish delegation. Crown princess Victoria probably couldn’t be rude even if she tried. It was such a relief to sit down with her, actually, after the Austrians had left.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, looking after the princess of Sweden with much more interest. “And is that her… Husband?”

“Yes. His name is Daniel,” Kurt supplied. “Well, technically he’s prince Daniel. And the little one is their oldest, princess Estelle. She just turned four.”

“Right,” Blaine echoed, and for some reason he felt a bit uneasy as he looked at the man. “Prince Daniel. Of course. He certainly looks the part.”

Blaine actually wasn’t sure if prince Daniel could have looked the part more if he’d tried. There was something about the man’s neatly combed hair and simple, black glasses that really seemed to fit the description of _royal spouse_. His appearance was sharp, yet he wouldn’t have stood out in a crowd. It was obvious, Blaine thought, that even though the man clearly belonged in this world of fine titles passed from one generation to the next, he was never going to be the star of the show. The prince would never wear the crown of Sweden. That would be Victoria’s role, one day.

Just like it would be Kurt’s.

It took Blaine a moment before he realized that Kurt had followed his gaze towards the royal couple. Kurt’s brows were furrowed. Blaine quickly looked away from prince Daniel, clearing his throat lightly.

“Which country is Daniel prince of?” he asked Kurt, hoping that would be enough to change the subject. “Denmark? Or maybe Norway?”

“Neither, actually,” Kurt said, his tone light as he turned back to face Blaine. “You see, Daniel wasn’t a prince before he married Victoria. He didn’t have a title.”

Blaine blinked, confused.

“He didn’t? How does that even work? You can’t be _elected_ prince, can you?”

“No. But when you marry the crown princess of Sweden, they give you a nice title to go with it.” Kurt’s tone was patient. “That’s how they do it, up north.”

“Then… Who was he, before?” Blaine had gone back to staring at prince Daniel – or maybe just Daniel, depending on how you looked at it. “Was he anybody?”

“He was a personal trainer,” Kurt supplied. “That’s actually how he met Victoria.”

“He was… Daniel was her _gym trainer_? No.”

Kurt grinned. “The press had a field day with that one.”

“But… He was still allowed to marry her? Just like that?”

“Well, yes. Daniel is a very good person. Responsible, caring. Respectful. He’s very well liked by the Swedish people, these days.”

“But that’s…” Blaine cleared his throat. For some reason, he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around, well. Any of it. “Daniel wasn’t a prince.”

“No, Blaine.” Kurt looked a bit like he was trying not to laugh, now. “He wasn’t. But hey, Victoria’s little brother married a former TV-reality star.”

“Wait, _what_?”

“Yeah. Princess Sofia, is what she goes by these days. She got her big break as a contestant on a show called Paradise Hotel, although I believe she met prince Carl-Philip quite some time after that. She does a lot of work for charities in Sweden. I’ve only met her once, but I found her very charming.”

Blaine was shaking his head, slowly.

“Are all the royal families this… Rowdy?”

Kurt laughed.

“Most of us, yes. It’s a shocking truth, Blaine, but it turns out that princes and princesses are people, too.”

“You don’t say,” Blaine said. And then he thought of something. “Kurt… Your dad. He’s from the US, isn’t he?”

“Correct.”

“So he can’t have been titled, can he?” Blaine wondered. “But your mother could still… They married?”

He wasn’t sure how else to ask. In fact, he didn’t even know if it would be all right to ask this way. But at least Kurt didn’t look displeased, or offended.

If anything, Kurt’s expression seemed a little bit… Nervous?

“They married, yes,” was Kurt’s eventual response. “My dad is a mechanic, from Ohio.”

“Really,” Blaine said, immensely curious now. “And that was okay? She was allowed to choose him?”

“In the end, yes,” Kurt said, smiling a little. “The king, that is my grandfather, was dead set against it at first. But my mother was nothing if not clever.”

“Did they elope?”

“Better yet. She got pregnant.” Kurt grinned. “Told her dad as soon as she was certain. Of course, he had to let them marry then.”

“I suppose anything else would have been a bigger scandal,” Blaine said, feeling decidedly impressed. “That _is_ clever.”

“It was so like her, too,” Kurt told him, still smiling. “She was very resourceful, my mother. I hope I can become half the ruler she was, in my time.”

They were quiet for a moment. Blaine wondered if they should perhaps head over to the others, already. They must be wondering what was keeping them so long. Before he could suggest this, however, Kurt had spoken up again.

“Blaine… Do you think about marriage? As something that should be a part of your future?”

Blaine looked up at Kurt, startled. Unfortunately, Kurt’s expression was very hard to read. He looked tense, if anything. Anxious.

“I’m… Not sure,” Blaine told him. And at least it was honest. “Maybe someday. It’ll have to depend a bit on how things turn out, I think, and… With who. Of course.” Blaine cleared his throat. “What about you?”

“I would like to get married,” Kurt said, something careful about his tone. “But, I wouldn’t be… It would have to be the right person. And not just for me, but for my country. Someone who can help me handle everything, privately but also publicly.”

“That’s… That sounds like a pretty tall order.”

Blaine wanted to laugh. Possibly hysterically. He wasn’t sure how anyone, let alone _him_ , could ever live up to an expectation like that.

Although maybe he was getting ahead of himself.

No, scratch that. Blaine was _definitely_ getting ahead of himself.

Kurt wasn’t laughing. In fact, he wasn’t even smiling.

“From my point of view,” he told Blaine, his tone completely serious, “It’s more like it’s too much to ask, of someone else. In particular of someone I care about.”

“But that’s…” Blaine shook his head. “I’m sure there’s lots and lots of people who would love the idea of all this. You’re a _prince_ , Kurt. Surely that must make some difference in the dating scene?”

“Well,” Kurt said, reaching out to touch Blaine’s hand briefly. And finally, he was smiling again. “It got me this far, didn’t it?”

Blaine shook his head again. Because that definitely wasn’t true.

“Either way, it’s not something we should be talking about right now,” Kurt said, his tone firm. “Should we rejoin the others?”

“All right,” Blaine said. And then he quickly continued. “Kurt, you should know that I really didn’t come to see your country, because it is your country. Or well, I did, but not because you’re _prince_ of it. Really.”

Kurt’s smile softened.

“I know, Blaine. I really do.”

 

*

 

Once they finally made it over to the others on the lawn, Blaine was a little nervous that someone would ask what had taken them so long. Fortunately, no one seemed to even have noticed their absence. In fact, when Kurt and Blaine sat down with the others, everyone else were too distracted by something Mercedes was saying to even say hello.

“… sure it’s the fourth time he’s blown me off like this,” Mercedes was rambling, for some reason glaring at her phone. “What a jerk! I’m sure he’s planned it. He probably never wanted to come to the royal banquet, anyway.”

“Or maybe he’s simply down with the flu, just like he told you,” Artie said, his tone very calming. “Don’t you think that’s possible?”

“No,” Mercedes huffed. “He chickened out, I just know it. Even though I said he wouldn’t have to wear a tailcoat. A simple tuxedo would have been _fine_.”

“I think Sam would have told you, if he wasn’t up for it,” Rachel chirped in.

“Hold on,” Kurt said. “You asked Sam to be your date to the banquet? Samuel Evans?”

“You all know him?” Blaine wondered curiously.

“High school,” Artie said, under his breath. “Which means that everyone in the rich-and-noble club gets the picture, and I have no clue. Welcome to my life.”

“Well, it’s not like it matters,” Mercedes sighed, grimacing. “I’m just going to have to suck it up and go to the banquet without a plus one. For the first time in history. But who’s counting.”

“Unless…” Artie begun.

Mercedes glanced curiously, and perhaps almost hopefully, towards Artie. Artie, however, was looking at Blaine.

“Oh,” Mercedes exclaimed. Yet she didn’t look that disappointed. “That’s actually… What a perfect solution, Artie!”

“Um,” Blaine said eloquently.

“We’ll go as friends, of course,” Mercedes was quick to reassure him. “You caught one of my frisbees once, that counts as friendship. My friend Blaine from London.”

“Can he pull of a waltz?” Rachel wondered, her tone critical. “And does he have anything to wear?”

“I have nothing to wear,” Blaine told them honestly, thinking of his wrinkled shirts, or even worse, his pink t-shirt with princess Ariel. “Absolutely nothing.”

“But do you _waltz_?” Mercedes wanted to know.

“Well, yes. I do.” Blaine cleared his throat. “It’s been a while, though. But I think I would remember.”

“Still, he can’t very well attend the banquet naked,” Artie pointed out cheerfully.

“No,” Kurt said.

Everyone, including Blaine, turned around to look at him.

Kurt was smiling.

“But I could definitely have that taken care of, by tomorrow night.”

Mercedes positively beamed at Kurt.

“You are the best, Kurt, seriously!”

“You sure this is a good idea?” Blaine asked Kurt, still feeling a bit weary. “All those reporters, and all the guests… It was only a week ago that we decided it’s better if I don’t attend. So that we’re not found out.”

“But this is different,” Kurt said. His tone was eager. “You’re going with Mercedes, as friends. There’s nothing to find out, there.”

“But what if I’m recognized from the pictures of you and me? The tabloids wouldn’t leave us alone for another minute of our stay. Maybe we couldn’t even be seen together in London.”

“Well,” Kurt said, his smile turning playful. “As long as you don’t gel your hair, I think it’s very unlikely that they’ll pay any attention to you. Sounds like a plan?”

The horror Blaine felt must have showed on his face, because suddenly, everyone else were laughing at him.

“Besides,” Kurt said, his tone slightly more quiet. “I really like the idea of having you at the banquet. Even if we can’t interact. I would love for you to experience that.”

“All right, then,” Blaine said, taking a deep breath. “So. I’m going to the royal banquet?”

Kurt grinned.

“You’re going to the royal banquet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So obviously, any mentions of the Austrian royal family are completely fictional. I actually don't even know if there is an Austrian royal family, but I'm sure they're all the loveliest of people. As for any mentions of the Swedish royal family, I would say that everything about them in this story is fairly accurate. Crown Princess Victoria and her husband (and former gym trainer) Prince Daniel are both very much real. There'll be another note about them on the final chapter of this story.


	5. Chapter 5

Mercedes looked _stunning._

She was wearing a gown in a dark shade of violet, with a sweetheart neckline and rhinestones sprinkled all across the bodice. The skirt was long and made out of some kind of light, flowy material that made Blaine think of thin stripes of clouds, or a summer’s breeze. There was a single, sideways strap that crossed over Mercedes’s right shoulder, but other than that her shoulders were bare. She wore no necklace. Still, her earrings, gold with large stones that looked an awful lot like real diamonds, more than made up for her lack of other jewellery.

Mercedes’s hair was put up into some kind of intricate do that involved both braids, and a few loose curls, and pearly white flowers. There was a hint of violet in her eye-shadow that perfectly matched that of her dress, and her nails shimmered in silver. On her feet were a pair of elegant, black heels, simple yet so very classic.

And so very tall.

“I just hope they don’t make me taller than you,” Mercedes had told Blaine when she first stepped into them. “I’d hate to have to hunch down in all the pictures.”

“You should do no such thing,” Blaine had immediately protested. “If you’re taller than me, then so be it. Be taller than me. You should be taller than me every single day, if this is how you choose to go about it. Girl, you are seriously _killing it_ in that dress.”

Mercedes laughed.

“You’re very sweet. And very gay, as I recall?”

“Unfortunately,” Blaine said. He still hadn’t taken his eyes off Mercedes. “In another life, if things are different, you have to let me take you out. For an actual date. In this dress.”

“Do I really?” Mercedes wondered, both eyebrows raised in disbelief. “And what about Kurt?”

“He’ll live. It’s only the one lifetime. Kurt can have all the other ones.”

For some reason, that made Mercedes’s smile soften.

“Including this one?”

“Well, that’s…” Blaine shuffled his feet. He definitely hadn’t been planning on having this conversation right now. Especially not with someone other than Kurt. “It’s not something we’ve talked about. We haven’t been seeing each other for very long.”

“But you’ve been thinking about it. Long-term, with Kurt. What that could be like.”

It wasn’t a question. Which was good. Because that meant Blaine could get away without an answer.

“I’ve been thinking about a lot of things,” he said, carefully. “Right now, though, I’m thinking we should probably get going? This banquet isn’t going to attend itself.”

 

*

 

About half an hour later, when Blaine and Mercedes entered the banquet hall, Blaine had been immensely relieved that he had let Kurt persuade him into accepting a ridiculously fancy, tailor-made tuxedo for the occasion. It made him feel a little less out of his element as he walked down the elegant flight of stairs with Mercedes by his side. Because even though he received quite a few curious glances, no one seemed to be raising their eyebrows towards him. Somehow, he had managed to blend in.

A few hours earlier, around lunchtime that day, Blaine hadn’t been quite as thrilled at the idea of custom-made formalwear. Not once he’d found out what the price tag would say.

“That’s too much,” he’d told Kurt, at least five times. “Kurt, this tuxedo is _so_ expensive. I can’t accept this. I can’t.”

“It’s only a _suit_ ,” Kurt had said, his tone unfairly reasonable. “Which you will need, if you’re going to this banquet. And it honestly means the world to me that we’ve actually found a way for you to be a part of all of this. Buying you a new tie, plus a set of black clothes to go with it, is no big deal. Not if that’s what it’s takes.”

“But it’s _so much money_ , Kurt. This is more than my brother makes in a month. It might even be more than my _dad_ makes in a month. It’s too much.”

“Right,” Kurt said, pausing for a moment before he continued. “It isn’t cheap, I’ll give you that. But we unfortunately don’t have the time to discuss this three times over before you give in. I need to go ahead and place this order as soon as possible, so that everything can be delivered in time for tonight.”

“Okay,” Blaine said. He felt rather tired. “Then what are you suggesting?”

“That’s just the thing, Blaine.” Kurt cleared his throat. “I’m not suggesting. I’m saying that this isn’t up for discussion. I’m buying you a tuxedo, tailor made, for the banquet tonight. It’s my money, and my choice how I spend it.” He smiled a little as he continued. “Please wear it?”

Blaine sighed, deeply.

Yet he also nodded.

“Fine. But we should talk more about this, later. I’m not entirely comfortable with you spending this much money on me.”

“Excellent,” Kurt said, his tone light as he continued. “It should arrive for your final fitting in an hour, or so.”

“Arrive? But you haven’t even ordered it yet.”

“Who says I haven’t?” Kurt grinned, just a bit sheepishly. “Now, let’s go check on Mercedes. Last time I stopped by, they were doing wonderful things with her hair. Some kind of braids, I think?”

 

*

 

Blaine was surprised at how quickly he and Mercedes found their seats among the many banquet tables. Mercedes, however, merely shrugged.

“I’m usually somewhere in this section,” she said, with a general gesture about their corner of the hall. “My mom and dad are seated over there, at the other end. Oh, look, mom is waving!”

As they took their seats, Blaine glanced at the cards placed at the seats around them, curious about just who would be joining them. He didn’t recognize any names, but the titles were almost as interesting. Next to Blaine there was a countess, and right across from him an entrepreneur. Mercedes had some kind of musician seated on her right, which for some reason seemed to please her immensely.

Blaine’s own place card said _Blaine Devon Anderson, Student_. It was written in gold with an elegant font that made Blaine’s name look somehow… Different. It suddenly didn’t seem all that out of place next to _Mercedes Jones, Duchess of Gertzbourg_.

“Are we allowed to keep the place card?” Blaine asked Mercedes.

It would definitely make for the perfect souvenir. Just the kind of thing Tina would love to see up close, once he came home.

“Of course,” Mercedes answered. “Although I always forget to take mine. I know Kurt used to keep a collection of his, but I’m not sure if he still keeps it up.”

That made Blaine glance up towards the still-empty head table, where Kurt would no doubt be sitting. There was a chair towards the middle that was a little taller than the rest. Kurt’s seat was probably in that area, but definitely not that particular one.

Because after all, Kurt was only the crown prince. As of right now, Scherzia was still ruled by a queen.

Blaine’s gaze lingered for a moment on that seat, the one that was taller than the rest. It somehow made him feel a little bit uneasy. And not because of the idea that Kurt would be taking that seat in a few years. The day before, Blaine’s thoughts would probably have travelled in that direction, making him ponder Kurt’s future as the ruler of a country. Tonight, however, Blaine found himself thinking about the queen, instead.

Probably because he had happened to run into her, that same morning.

He knew, of course, that the queen had supposedly returned from her travels. Kurt had left for his important meeting with her a few minutes early, accidentally leaving his phone behind in the east wing. Blaine had noticed less than a minute after Kurt had left, and had quickly decided to go after him, thinking that he might be able to catch up.

In his hurry, he had almost walked into a stranger right at the entrance of the throne room.

“Oh, pardon me,” Blaine had said, offering a polite smile towards the woman as he stepped out of her way. “I was in a hurry.”

“That’s all right.” The woman had smiled. Yet she also looked a bit curious. “I’m not sure if I’ve seen you before. Do you work here?”

“Ah, no. I’m just visiting for a week. I’m here with Kurt, actually.”

“Is that so,” the woman said, and for some reason she was looking Blaine up and down. “And your name is…?”

“Blaine. Blaine Anderson.” Blaine shuffled his feet, trying not to feel uncomfortable under her gaze. “I don’t think I’ve seen you, either?”

The woman’s smile widened.

“Well, I’ve actually been away for a while. I only got back last night. But it’s nice to finally make your acquaintance. My name is Anne.”

Oh.

“Oh,” Blaine said, timidly. “That’s, um. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

At least it wasn’t the worst thing he could have said.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t heard very much about you,” the queen said, calmly. “But I’m hoping that’s going to change. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for a meeting with my nephew.”

“Right. Of course.” Blaine stepped even further out of her way. “Don’t let me keep you.”

The queen smiled towards him one last time, before she continued inside the throne room.

Blaine found himself rooted on the spot for a long time, his mind spinning in circles. Which meant that he was still there a couple of minutes later, when he suddenly heard a pair of voices talking. It took Blaine a second to realize that they were coming from somewhere in the rooms located beyond the throne room.

“… different, isn’t he? Different from your friends who came over last year.”

The queen sounded very calm, Blaine thought, yet there was something in her tone that definitely hadn’t been there before. Concern, maybe?

Or disapproval?

“Of course Blaine is different.” It was Kurt’s voice, this time. “He’s more than a friend, Anne. We’re dating. He’s my boyfriend. And I know for a fact Mike has kept you updated on this, these past few months, so I don’t see what the problem is?”

“Kurt. I think we both know that you need to think more carefully, about this matter.”

“I am thinking about it.” Kurt’s tone was only slightly less even. “I know what I’m doing, all right? I know what I’m getting myself into.”

“Do you, now? Then please tell me what you are getting yourself into, exactly?”

“That’s…” Blaine heard Kurt take a deep breath. “Look, I’m not stupid. I know that in the end, this is every bit a political decision. I’m not rushing into anything. So like I said, you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Ah. That’s what I thought.” Blaine wasn’t sure, but he thought he could hear a smile in the queen’s voice as she continued. “Kurt, I know you’re not going to do anything unnecessary, or thoughtless. I don’t think you could if you tried.”

“Then why, exactly, are we having this conversation?”

“Because I don’t want to see you get hurt. That’s why.” And now there was definitely concern colouring the queen’s voice. “You’re letting yourself fall for a boy who’s from a completely different world. And you might have thought it all through, but he certainly hasn’t. He has absolutely no idea what he’s getting himself into. So once he realizes what this thing with you would actually be, what do you think he will do? Think about _that_ , Kurt. About how likely it is that he’d choose to stay. Despite everything.”

For a long moment, there was only silence. Blaine, who was still standing petrified in the hallway, tried to take several deep breaths. He should really get himself out of there, already.

Yet before he had taken a single step, Kurt spoke up again.

“You’re right. Me and Blaine might not work out, in the long run. But you know what? For me, it will have been worth it, either way. Come what may. And that isn’t for you to decide.”

Blaine could have stayed to hear what the queen would respond to that, but he didn’t. Instead, he silently turned around, walking away. Finally making his way back to the east wing.

Blaine spent the next hour trying to come up with a reasonable way of telling Kurt about everything he’d just heard. Yet in the end, he simply couldn’t. Because no matter how Blaine phrased it in his head, he still didn’t find a way of bringing it up that wouldn’t lead him and Kurt into a conversation that Blaine definitely wasn’t anywhere near ready for. Not yet.

So when Kurt had come back, looking unfairly calm for someone who had just had an argument with the queen about his love life, Blaine hadn’t said anything. Instead, he had tried to listen as Kurt explained why a tuxedo would be the most appropriate thing for Blaine to wear that evening. However, it wasn’t until Kurt had casually mentioned how much it would cost, that Blaine actually managed to focus on their conversation.

“That’s too much,” he’d told Kurt, at least five times. “Kurt, this tuxedo is _so_ expensive. I can’t accept this. I can’t.”

 

*

 

The food was delicious.

The entrée had been lightly roasted scallops with asparagus, while the main course consisted of tortellini with mushrooms and ricotta cheese and a creamy sauce that was to die for. Currently, Blaine was enjoying the dessert, which was some kind of chocolaty roll that had at least one layer of chocolate mousse, and one layer of something that crunched.

“Probably pecan nuts,” Sasha, the countess on Blaine’s left, had guessed. “Or at least some kind of nut, I think. But it’s really good.”

It really was.

“The food is definitely better than last year,” Sasha told him, scooping up another spoon of chocolaty goodness. “Or maybe I just really like chocolate.”

“Chocolate is definitely a good selling point,” Blaine agreed. “What about the years before, though? How was the food then?”

“Oh, this is actually my second time attending this banquet.” Sasha smiled towards him. “I wasn’t invited until I married, you see.”

“You… Oh. You married a count?”

“Precisely.” Sasha nodded subtly towards the man on her left, who was currently deep in conversation with the old lady on his left. “Attending various functions like this one was sort of a part of the deal. Not that I mind, but I still feel a bit out of place.”

“I can imagine,” Blaine said, before backtracking. “Or well, I actually don’t need to imagine. This is my first time attending anything like this.”

“Really,” Sasha said, glancing towards Blaine’s place card with newfound interest. “And you’re here because…?”

“My friend Mercedes invited me to come along as her plus one. Just as friends.”

Mercedes, who had turned around at the sound of her name, smiled towards Sasha.

“Hello. Enjoying your evening?”

“Very much, thank you.” Sasha looked back towards Blaine again, and unfortunately, she appeared a bit too curious for Blaine’s liking. “But you’re not seeing each other?”

“No,” Blaine said, firmly. “Actually, I’m gay. So that’s that.”

Sasha laughed.

“And here I was hoping for something to gossip about,” she said. “All right, then. What’s your opinion on the crown prince?”

Shit.

“You mean Kurt Hummel?” Blaine said, trying to keep his tone light. “He’s... I suppose he is very attractive.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Sasha said, glancing over towards the head table with a sigh. “If I was ten years younger, and unmarried, and if he was a little less gay…”

“Those are a lot of big ifs,” Blaine pointed out.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Sasha conceded. “I suppose I’ll just have to root for you, then.”

Blaine tried his best to laugh a little. And then he changed the subject.

“You know, I actually work part time in a chocolate boutique, in London.”

“Do you, now? And how is that?”

 

*

 

After they had finished the dessert, there was a flurry of movement as everyone in the hall stood up. Slowly, all the guests made their way out of the banquet hall and up a flight of stairs. There, they stepped into a slightly smaller hall, one that had round walls and tall windows. The ceiling was high and circular in shape, giving the entire room a globe-like shape. It took Blaine a moment to realize that this room must be inside of the dome that could be seen from the outside of the palace.

There was an orchestra seated at the other end of the hall, but the large floor was currently empty. The guests were all filling out along the walls of the room, intentionally leaving a space in the middle.

“So this is the ball room,” Mercedes told him in a quiet voice. “And in a couple of minutes, you and I are going to waltz right across it.”

“Right,” Blaine said, hesitantly taking in the completely empty floor. “I hope we won’t be the only ones?”

“The highnesses have the first dance,” Mercedes said, nodding towards a small group of people right over by the orchestra. “But then everyone else will join in. Including us.”

“Right. Including us.”

“Are you nervous?”

“Maybe a little bit.” Blaine took a deep breath. “I literally haven’t waltzed in years.”

“It’ll be fine. Just remember to smile.” There was a mischievous glint in Mercedes’s eye as she continued. “I want our pictures to look amazing.”

“Right. I’ll try.”

“Oh, look! They’re getting ready.”

Blaine looked over towards the orchestra again to find that Kurt and the others were spreading out across the floor. Kurt was leading a beautiful woman in a blue dress by the hand. It took Blaine a moment to realize that it was Victoria, the crown princess of Sweden.

“They must have been seated together,” Mercedes observed. “Good for Kurt, his evening has definitely been tolerable. Oh, and there’s Sebastian.”

Sebastian’s expression was very tense. Blaine didn’t recognize the girl he was with, but she didn’t seem to be looking away from Sebastian even for a moment. Sebastian, meanwhile, seemed quite determined to look absolutely anywhere else.

Suddenly, there was music. And then all the couples started to dance.

Blaine didn’t recognize the song. It was a waltz, of course, and it was quite beautiful, but he was certain he had never heard it before. It went quite slowly, Blaine thought, but that was definitely a good thing. If all the music of the evening had this tempo, then maybe Blaine wouldn’t mess up too badly once it was their turn.

“Kurt’s a good dancer, don’t you think?” Mercedes said.

Blaine agreed. There was really nothing else he could do. The way Kurt and Victoria seemed to float across the dance floor was simply graceful.

“Does he ever… Ask boys to dance? At events like these?”

“No.” Mercedes sounded a little disappointed herself, even as she said it. “Kurt naturally wouldn’t have a problem with that, but he’s said he doesn’t want to cause unnecessary speculation about the sexuality of any other guests.”

“Ah. I guess that is sensible.”

“It’s so like him, don’t you think? To be thinking of everyone else, first.”

“You’re right.” Blaine was still watching Kurt waltzing around the room. “I suppose that’s what he expects of himself.”

“I guess, yeah.” Mercedes offered Blaine a small smile. “You know, I think you’re very good for him. I really do. I think he’s able to relax a little more, around you.”

Blaine smiled, his eyes still on Kurt.

“I hope you’re right.”

Soon, almost too soon, the first dance over. Blaine had only just joined in the applause when Mercedes dragged him forward.

“Let’s go, right now! Before it gets too crowded.”

As they stepped onto the floor, Blaine glanced around them, trying to see if Kurt was anywhere near them. He wasn’t. Yet then the music started, and Blaine hastily placed a hand on Mercedes waist. And suddenly, he didn’t have the time to even think about looking for Kurt.

At least he smiled the whole time.

After their first two dances, Blaine found that he was able to relax a little more. Mercedes was literally glowing, and Blaine was actually starting to enjoy himself, just a little. In fact, he felt so confident that he dared to invite Sasha for a dance, and waltzed her around the room for the next two dances. Then he danced once more with Mercedes, but after that she was approached by the man who had been seated on her other side. She looked so pleased to have been asked to dance by him that Blaine immediately waved her off with a smile.

Instead, Blaine stepped over to the side of the room, watching the couples on the dance floor. It took him only a few moments to spot Kurt, despite the fact that he was all the way across the hall. Currently, he was dancing with the queen. They seemed to be having a conversation at the same time as they waltzed, something which Blaine couldn’t even imagine being able to do. The queen was laughing at something Kurt had just said. Kurt was smiling, too. It seemed like a genuine smile. Then again, it was a bit hard to tell from this distance.

But maybe – hopefully – their conversation this morning had ended better than it had started.

Blaine turned around, swiftly heading out of the ball room. He needed some air.

A minute later, he found himself on a long balcony somewhere at the back of the palace. There was a couple a bit further away, but they seemed to be too caught up in their conversation to notice anything else. Over on Blaine’s end, there was no one. And what was more, it was _quiet_.

Blaine closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. This was exactly what he needed.

“I thought I might find you here.”

Blaine turned around, unable to help his smile as he came face to face with Kurt.

“Should you really be here?” he wondered, taking a step closer to the prince despite himself. “Alone, with me? What if someone sees us?”

“Then they’ll see us having a conversation, simple as that,” Kurt said, firmly. And then he smiled, too. “I think I’ve missed you a little bit too much, tonight.”

“Me too.” Blaine had to keep remind himself to stay where he was, to not reach out. No matter how much he wanted to.

“Have you been enjoying yourself?”

“Very much. It’s been… Difficult, but also really fun. I really liked the food.”

Kurt’s smile diminished, just a little. “Which part was difficult?”

“Not being close to you,” Blaine said, immediately. Despite his embarrassment. “I guess I’m really not used to the idea of sharing you with other people.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Kurt said, and apparently he was unable to resist reaching out to hold Blaine’s hand, just briefly. “I know that feeling. I’ve actually been thinking that we should spend as little time as possible with anyone else, for the rest of this week. Sounds good?”

And that was the exact moment when the doors to the balcony opened.

Kurt immediately let go of Blaine’s hand.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

The woman who had stepped out on the balcony looked from Kurt, to Blaine, and back towards Kurt again. Unfortunately, her expression was quite sharp. Almost as if she had just realized something important.

“Miss Fabray,” Kurt said, his tone a bit apprehensive. “It’s a pleasure to see you here, this evening.”

The woman – miss Fabray – smiled. She was quite pretty, Blaine belatedly realized, and not just because she had dressed up for the occasion. Although to be fair, she did look quite fantastic in the dress she had chosen. It was a black, quite form-fitting dress that was simple yet still very elegant. She had blonde hair down to her shoulders that was curled into soft waves and pushed back by a silver diadem. However, what caught Blaine’s attention the most was the ominous press pass that dangled from the strap of her purse.

“Mr Hummel,” miss Fabray said in response, nodding courteously towards Kurt. “I wasn’t expecting… I came out here because I needed some air. It appears I wasn’t the only one.”

“Evidently not,” Kurt said. And somehow, he was still smiling. “Have you been enjoying the banquet?”

“Of course. Although I’m thinking of calling it a night, quite soon. I have an early flight in the morning.”

“I see,” Kurt said, nodding. “Please don’t let me keep you, if you need to get going. Contrary to popular belief, I’m actually not that important.”

That made Miss Fabray laugh, just a little.

“Sometimes, you really do say the cleverest things,” she said. She was still smiling. “Actually, I should probably go call a cab. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mr Hummel.”

Miss Fabray stepped back towards the door, and opened it. Yet then she stopped, turning halfway back around to face them once more.

“Oh, and Mr Hummel? You should know that I’ve never done any work for the gossip column, before. And that isn’t about to change. When I get you out of office, it will be because of my excellent political commentary. Nothing else.”

Blaine glanced from miss Fabray, to Kurt, and back again. Kurt looked like he was trying very hard not to smile.

“That’s very good to know. I look forward to debating government policy with you many times in the future.”

Miss Fabray’s eyes narrowed.

“Oh, you are so _on_. I’m requesting a meeting. You’d better take it.”

“Not this week,” Kurt said, firmly. “Good night, Miss Fabray.”

“And that’s my cue, apparently,” Miss Fabray sighed, shaking her head. “You know, sometimes I have no clue what to make of you, Mr Hummel.”

“You could just call me Kurt.”

“Oh, I must certainly could _not_.” Miss Fabray actually rolled her eyes. “Good night, both of you. And for God’s sake, try to be more careful.”

And then she left, stepping out the door and letting it fall closed behind her without another look back.

Kurt immediately took one step further away from Blaine.

“She’s right,” he said, his tone apologetic. “This was a little… Reckless. I should go.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, glancing wearily at the door. “Is she a reporter?”

“She’s a journalist, yes.”

“And do you think she will… Publish any of this? Anything about us?”

“Oh, no.” Kurt sounded absolutely certain. “If it had been anyone else, I would have been very concerned, but Quinn has more integrity in her little finger than most people do in their whole body. It’s safe to say that we lucked out.”

“Right,” Blaine said. Yet he still felt a bit confused. “It just seemed that she doesn’t… Like you? Very much?”

“Quinn Fabray doesn’t like me at all,” Kurt said, his tone even. “It’s a well known fact. She is, by far, my fiercest critic. Let’s just say she’s not really into the concept of monarchy.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, nodding. “But she doesn’t really have anything against you, personally?”

Kurt laughed.

“She has _everything_ against me personally,” he told Blaine. “We disagree on every single political issue I can think of. She’s argued against absolutely everything that I’ve ever argued for.”

“Really,” Blaine said. And suddenly he felt worried, again. “And you’re sure she won’t try to use any of this, for political points? Despite what she told you?”

“One hundred percent,” Kurt said, calmly.

“All right, then.”

They were quiet for a moment. Then Kurt checked his watch, sighing.

“I need to get back inside,” he said, reluctantly. “Make another appearance, dance a couple more times.”

“Right,” Blaine managed. “I guess I should go find Mercedes. I’ll see you back in the east wing, later?”

“Sounds good. We can talk about things, then.”

“Yes.” Blaine swallowed. “We definitely should. Talk, that is. We should talk.”

Kurt expression shifted slightly. Yet he didn’t ask.

“Give Mercedes my best.”

 

*

 

Blaine waited for a few minutes, after Kurt had left. Partly because they couldn’t very well walk back into the ball room together, but mostly because he needed some time to collect himself. It had been such a long, complicated day. Blaine was starting to feel very tired. And, to his own surprise, a little bit out of his depth.

He wasn’t entirely sure what he’d need to say to Kurt, later that night. But he knew he needed to say something.

Just as Blaine turned around to finally head back inside, the door opened again. To Blaine’s surprise, it was Sebastian who stepped out.

“Oh,” the Austrian prince said, looking Blaine up and down. “It’s you.”

Blaine didn’t even try to smile.

“It’s me,” he said, instead. “Hello to you, too.”

Sebastian frowned. Yet somehow, his expression looked vaguely sympathetic.

“You look like shit,” he said, stepping forwards to stand next to Blaine, leaning back on the railing. “I suppose no one told you the banquet actually sucks.”

“No, that’s… I’ve had a nice time. It’s been great.”

Sebastian grimaced.

“Lying doesn’t suit you,” he said, pulling out a package of cigarettes. “Want one?”

“No. I don’t smoke.”

“Then you probably shouldn’t start tonight,” Sebastian said, lighting a cigarette for himself.

“Probably not, no.”

They were quiet for a moment. Blaine knew he should be getting back inside, already, but somehow he couldn’t bring himself to. The thought of rearranging his expression into another polite smile, of steeling himself under the eyes of all those people, of carefully avoiding getting too close to Kurt at any moment… Blaine closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt exhausted.

Not that there was much to be said for staying out on the balcony, with Sebastian. Except for the fact that here, he didn’t have to pretend.

He didn’t even have to pretend to be okay.

“Can I give you some advice?”

Blaine opened his eyes again, to find that Sebastian had turned to look straight towards him.

“I don’t think anyone else is going to tell you this,” Sebastian continued, letting the cigarette butt drop to the floor and stepping on it. “But someone really should. I think.”

“Someone should tell me what?”

“That you don’t have to be able to do this. You don’t have to be everything you expect yourself to be. It’s okay, even if you fuck this up.”

Blaine raised both eyebrows.

“That’s not very reassuring.”

“You clearly don’t need reassuring.” Sebastian sounded do certain. It almost made Blaine shiver. “You need a reality check.”

“I do?”

“Sometimes, trying is all you can do. You look like you’re trying. Like you’re trying really fucking hard. That’s enough.”

“That’s…” Blaine cleared his throat, looking away. Blinking against his tears. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“Of course you do.” Sebastian’s voice was rough. “I know what it’s like, okay? You’re not the only one who’s had a crush on Kurt Hummel.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ask Kurt. It’s not my story to tell.”

There was another moment of silence. And then Sebastian stepped away from the railing, towards the door. Without looking back.

 

*

 

It was another ten minutes before Blaine was able to make himself go back inside.

He found Mercedes right about where he left her. She was still talking to the man who had been sitting next to her at dinner. The musician. What was his name, again? Blaine really couldn’t remember. At any rate, Mercedes seemed quite enamoured by him, if her smile was anything to go by.

“There you are, Blaine,” she greeted him. “Having a nice time?”

“Yes,” Blaine said. And he actually smiled. “Although I am getting a bit tired.”

“It is getting rather late, isn’t it,” she said, nodding. “Thinking of calling it a night?”

Blaine glanced over towards the dance floor, spotting Kurt immediately. He was currently waltzing with a girl in a pink dress that Blaine hadn’t seen before. Yet there was something very unfamiliar about his smile.

“Yeah,” Blaine said, turning towards Mercedes again. “I’m heading back. But you should stay, if you want to. Enjoy yourself.”

“I will. Goodnight, Blaine.”

“Goodnight.”

 

*

 

When Blaine stepped back into the east wing, he couldn’t believe he had left it only a few hours earlier. Somehow, the banquet had felt like several days. At least.

Blaine took a long shower, trying to think as little as possible. When he got out again, he was relieved to find that he actually felt a lot better. Even his reflection in the mirror looked more composed, somehow. More confident.

Less fragile.

When he stepped back out into Kurt’s room, he found Kurt sitting on the bed.

Kurt had removed the outer jacket of his tuxedo and draped it across a chair. He was removing his tie, as he looked up to face Blaine.

He looked very tired, Blaine thought.

“I’d almost forgotten how exhausting these functions are,” he said, stifling a yawn. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Blaine said. Deciding to leave it at that. For now. “I guess we should try to get some sleep?”

“We should,” Kurt said. “Although, can I just… I actually have an idea.”

“Oh?”

“There’s still three days, before we have to go back to London,” Kurt said. “But I’ve taken care of all my business here at the palace. So I was thinking we could maybe go away for bit. Just the two of us?”

“Away, where?” Blaine wondered hesitantly. “Without Mike?”

“My family has a cottage, up north,” Kurt told him, eagerly. “It’s only a few hours’ drive from here. We usually go there in the winter, but it should be lovely around this time of year. Mike would stay in the area, but not… Not with us. We could be alone, for a while.”

“Alone,” Blaine said. And suddenly, he was smiling. “Kurt, that sounds… I would _love_ that.”

“Yeah? We can leave first thing, tomorrow morning. Take my private car, this time. Get out of here before anyone else even wakes up.”

“Okay. Let’s do exactly that.”

Kurt was smiling, too.

“Good,” he said, getting up from the bed. “Then it’s settled. Now come on, we should get some sleep.”

“Sure,” Blaine said, quickly stepping forwards. “But before that, just let me…”

He reached out to take hold of Kurt’s hand, lacing their fingers together.

“There,” he exhaled, squeezing Kurt’s hand lightly. “I’ve been dying to do that all night.”

When he looked up, he found that Kurt’s smile had turned playful.

“Just that?”

Oh.

_Oh._

“Well,” Blaine said, with all the eloquence he could muster. And God if he wasn’t blushing. “I’m, um. Open to suggestions?”

Kurt grinned.

“Something else for us to talk about over the next couple of days,” he said, his tone decisive.

“Right. Okay. Sounds good.”

“It does, doesn’t it,” Kurt agreed pleasantly.

It was truly unfair, Blaine thought, how casual Kurt managed to sound. Despite everything.

“Now, let’s go to bed. We have a long drive ahead tomorrow.”


	6. Chapter 6

Kurt’s car was… Something.

It was grey and very sleek, with headlights sort of in the shape of narrowed eyes. The whole design looked almost unnecessary streamlined. If this car had been a dog, Blaine thought, it would definitely have been a greyhound.

“I like it,” Blaine told Kurt, as they drove down the road leading away from the palace.

“Thank you,” Kurt replied, glancing over towards him as he continued. “It’s an Aston Martin.”

The name was only vaguely familiar to Blaine. He wasn’t quite sure how he ought to react to it, but he figured nodding in apparent recognition couldn’t go over too badly. Yet for some reason, his lack of response made Kurt grin.

“You have no idea what that is, do you?”

“No clue,” Blaine confessed, smiling sheepishly. “Should I?”

“It’s hardly mandatory,” Kurt said, shrugging. “Or surprising, to be honest. I’ve never had the impression that you’re much into cars.”

“I’m not,” Blaine agreed. “But you are…?”

“My dad’s a mechanic.”

“Right,” Blaine said. Trying to put two and two together. “So, you actually know how to change the oil in this thing, or fix a flat tire?”

“Yes and yes,” Kurt said, his smile widening. “Among other things.”

“Really?”

“Sure. I also know how to change a broken fan belt. And I once built my own air compressor.”

“… I don’t even know what that means.”

Kurt smiled.

“That’s okay. This isn’t a test.”

As Kurt drove, they continued talking about Kurt’s fascination with cars, and other hobbies they’d each had when they were younger. Blaine ended up re-enacting the majority of a musical version of Snow White that he’d unfortunately been a part of in second grade (Blaine had played Happy). Kurt told Blaine all about the first time he’d been to see a play in London, and how he’d seriously considered abdicating to go into theatre, instead, for all of three hours (Kurt had been nine). It was nice, Blaine thought, to be talking about nothing and anything, again. Light, easy topics. Nothing too daunting.

After a couple of hours on the road, Kurt took a left.

“Are we getting closer?” Blaine wondered.

“Not yet,” Kurt said. “But I figured we could make a quick stop. Since we’re here.”

“Oh? And where is here, exactly?”

“There’s a goat farm up ahead.”

“A goat farm. Really?”

“Yes.” Kurt was grinning. “And I figured it’s time that you met my goat.”

“Wait, _what_?”

There were… A whole lot of goats.

Kurt obviously knew the family who ran the goat farm, judging by how enthusiastically they greeted him. Not to mention the fact that Kurt continued chatting amiably with one of the staffers all the way out to the goat enclosure. Clearly, they were catching up.

“So which one’s yours?” Blaine wondered, once they’d reached the fence.

“That one,” Kurt said immediately, pointing towards one of the many and very similar goats with utmost certainty. “Blaine, meet Rufus.”

“Rufus. Seriously?”

“Yes, Rufus,” Kurt said, looking just a little bit offended. “I named him when I was five. But I still think Rufus is an excellent name.”

Blaine stared at the goat.

“How old is that animal?”

“ _Rufus_ is sixteen. Oh, and that white and grey goat over there, by the tree? That’s Andromeda.”

“Right. Is she also one of your goats?”

“No,” Kurt said, smiling. “She was my mother’s.”

“Oh.” Blaine turned around to get a better look at the goat. “She looks nice. I suppose.”

He wasn’t sure what else to say about Andromeda, the goat. Thankfully, Kurt chose that moment to actually start explaining things.

“It’s part of an old tradition, you see,” he told Blaine, gesturing towards all of the goats. “Each member of the Scherzian royal family has their own royal goat. And the goats all live here, on this farm. It’s actually a bit of a tourist attraction, in itself.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, looking doubtfully towards Andromeda. “But… She can’t very well have been alive since your mother was born, can she?”

“No. When one goat dies, we select another. This involves a grand ceremony with the whole royal guard present. It’s got it’s own theme music and everything. These days, they usually air the whole thing live on television.”

“Of course they do,” Blaine said, and now he was struggling to keep a straight face. Because there was something in Kurt tone that told him he’d be in trouble, if he actually laughed. “So, Andromeda was the last goat your mother chose?”

“Yes. And although Rufus is my second goat, he was the first one I picked for myself. In a way, that was my first big decision as crown prince, and I have to say I’m still very pleased with my choice. Five-year-old me had excellent taste in goats.

“Right,” Blaine managed. And now he simply couldn’t hold back a smile. “Kurt… You do realize this is actually kind of bizarre, right?”

Kurt turned towards him, and for a moment he managed to look almost shocked. Yet only for a moment. After less than two seconds, he was grinning, instead.

“It’s an _honourable_ Scherzian tradition, Blaine,” he said, emphasizing the word heavily. “And actually, I think it’s really nice. Don’t you think Rufus is cute?”

“He’s very cute, yes. The cutest goat I’ve ever seen.”

“You should have seen him when he was little. There are ridiculously adorable pictures of baby Rufus and five-year-old me.”

“Oh, my God,” Blaine exclaimed, eagerly. “I need those pictures in my life. Preferably right now. This goat thing _rocks_.”

Kurt laughed.

“Some other time,” he assured Blaine. “Now come on, we should continue. We still have a couple of hours left to drive.”

When they got back to their car, there was another car parked next to them. A family with two kids were getting out. When Kurt and Blaine approached, however, both of the adults seemed to stop dead in their tracks.

The kids, meanwhile, weren’t quite as composed.

“Mommy, look! Isn’t that Kurt? I think it’s Kurt!”

Kurt smiled. Calmly, he stepped forwards, crouching down before the children.

“Hello. You two look like you could use a high-five.”

Blaine had never seen a child be so ecstatic over a high-five in his entire life.

 

*

 

Once they arrived at the cottage, it was late in the afternoon.

As Blaine helped Kurt carry their luggage inside, he couldn’t help glancing curiously around himself. Kurt may have called it a cottage, but Blaine definitely thought the house felt bigger than that. Then again, it was probably only about half the size of the east wing that Kurt was used to. Although maybe the east wing of the Scherzian royal palace wasn’t the best reference for the size of a cottage.

They entered the house into a narrow hallway that led out into a living-room-like area which seemed to take up over half of the ground floor. Over to the left, there was a spacious kitchen, and upstairs there were at least four bedrooms. Kurt led the way into one of the bigger ones, where there was a double bed that was only the slightest bit smaller than Kurt’s four-poster bed in the palace. Blaine walked over to a pair of large windows, finding that they offered a nice view of the garden behind the house.

Here, there were no flower beds or fountains, like those in the palace gardens. Instead, there was a large lawn, and a few bushes, and a couple of trees. A bit further away was the edge of the forest, and in the other direction there was a large field. However, there was not a single neighbouring house in sight.

When Blaine turned back from the windows, he had started to smile.

“You like it?” Kurt wondered, his tone hopeful.

“I really do. It’s… Bigger than I thought it would be. But still really cosy.”

“I’ve always thought so, too,” Kurt said, walking over to join Blaine by the windows. “As you can see we’ve ended up right in the middle of nowhere. I’m sure no one will disturb us, here.”

“That’s what I’m looking forward to the most.”

Kurt’s expression softened.

“Me too,” he agreed. “Mike’s going to stop by later, just to drop off some groceries, because we can’t very well wander into the nearest supermarket if we want to remain unnoticed. But other than that, we should be completely alone.”

“Okay,” Blaine said. He was still smiling. “So. What should we do first?”

“Maybe we could go for a walk? The forest out here is really nice.”

 

*

 

It felt good, Blaine thought, walking. Soothing, even. To just keep moving forwards, one foot in front of the other. Heel to toe, one breath at a time.

The path through the forest was really quite pretty, and what was more, it was completely deserted. Blaine relished in the feeling of Kurt’s fingers loosely laced through his. Somehow, it still felt like a luxury, despite it’s simplicity. One that he didn’t want to even think about giving up, anytime soon.

“Blaine?” Kurt’s voice was quiet. “There’s something on your mind, isn’t there?”

Blaine stopped.

He could have kept going. Kept up his appearance. He could have told Kurt that it was nothing, that he hadn’t been thinking about anything in particular. It wouldn’t even have been a lie.

But it also wouldn’t have been the truth.

“Yes, there is.” Blaine sighed. “I’ve been thinking a lot, this past couple of days. It’s been… A very eventful spring break.”

“To say the least,” Kurt said, offering Blaine a small smile. “But have you been… Has there been something in particular? Something that’s troubling you, even now?”

“Sort of, yes.” Blaine cleared his throat. “Although it’s not one thing that’s happened, exactly. It’s more like… There’s been several times, when I’ve felt a bit… Unsure?”

_Or terrified_ , his mind supplied unhelpfully. _Lonely. Confused._ _Helplessly_ _inadequate._

“When was the most recent time?”

“Last night.” Blaine took a deep breath. ”There was… I ran into Sebastian. After you’d left.”

Perhaps that wasn’t the best place to start.

But at least it was a start.

“I hope he didn’t give you too much trouble,” Kurt said, speaking slowly. “Sebastian can be very… Determined. When he wants to be.”

“No, it was fine,” Blaine immediately reassured him, Sebastian’s surprisingly understanding look still fresh in his mind. “We just… We talked. For a while.”

“About what?”

Well.

“You, a little bit,” Blaine admitted, hesitating briefly before he dared to continue. “And there was something he said that was… That sounded like there’s some kind of history, between you and him?”

Kurt was quiet for a moment. Blaine dared a quick glance towards him, and was surprised to find Kurt’s expression neither defensive nor apprehensive. Instead, Kurt simply looked tired.

“That was a very long time ago, Blaine.”

“So it’s true, then?” Blaine asked, trying to make his tone gentle. Understanding. Free of judgement, or jealousy. “When?”

“High school. In Scherzia.” Kurt wasn’t smiling, anymore. “It might have been a big part of the reason why I suddenly transferred to the US.”

“That’s… Really?”

“You could say that he broke my heart,” Kurt said, a bit wistfully. “Or that I broke his. Depending on which way you look at it.”

“But was it… Were you together, back then?”

“We were, yes. Although it was all very, _very_ secret. I’ve actually never told anyone else. Not even Mercedes.” Kurt sighed. “For me, that was the entire problem.”

“You mean… Did you want to announce it, at the time?” Something twisted dangerously in Blaine’s stomach at the thought. “Come out, together with Sebastian?”

Kurt shook his head, firmly.

“I wasn’t anywhere near ready to come out, at the time. But being with Sebastian had made me realize that I’d want to take that step, eventually. That it was something I’d need to do, for myself. Consequences be damned.”

“That sounds incredibly familiar.”

Kurt smiled. Briefly.

“Unfortunately, Sebastian had realized the exact opposite thing.”

“... really?”

“Yes. It was something we discussed a lot, at the time. Discussions that grew into arguments, which became the foundation for anger, and frustration, and eventually resentment.” Kurt grimaced. “It was quite the event, our break-up.”

“It must have been very difficult.”

“It was. I was such a wreck, on that plane to the US. I think I’ve never been more afraid, in my life.”

Blaine blinked, surprised.

“Afraid?”

“Afraid that I’d never… That every man I was even remotely interested in would be unable to handle the idea of being with me under the scrutiny of an entire country. Sebastian had demonstrated to me with painful clarity just how intimidating that concept could seem.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, nodding in understanding now. “I can see why you felt like that, and definitely why Sebastian found it so daunting, too.”

Kurt’s eyes snapped up to meet his.

“You can?”

Shit.

“Well…” Blaine trailed off, scrambling to backtrack in the face of Kurt’s suddenly concerned expression. “I mean, yes. A little bit. Considering everything.”

“Blaine.” There was a slight tremble in Kurt’s tone, now. It made Blaine’s heart ache, made him want to reach out to hold, and comfort. Never letting go. “Are you… Has everything been okay, this week?”

“On the whole, yes.” It still wasn’t a lie, not quite. “I might have felt a little overwhelmed, finding myself at a royal banquet among all those noble guests and the waltzing and what not. But it’s fine, Kurt. Really. And I think-“

“It’s not fine,” Kurt snapped.

Blaine fell silent. Kurt wasn’t facing Blaine anymore. Instead, he was looking down at his feet. Blinking rapidly.

“Kurt,” Blaine said. Trying to fit all of his emotions into that one, defining syllable. “Please don’t… Don’t cry, Kurt. It’s all right. Everything’s all right – _I’m_ all right. I promise.”

“I’m not crying,” Kurt denied, his tone thick. “Blaine, I’m just… Shit. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Whatever for?”

“For not thinking straight. I knew that the royal banquet would be a whirlwind of all the crazy that I bring into this relationship, and that it would put too much pressure on you, too soon, but I just… I really wanted you there. Really. And I figured it could be just a casual evening since you went with Mercedes, but…” Kurt took a deep breath. “I should have known better – I _did_ know better. It was selfish of me, asking you to go. I’m so sorry.”

“Kurt, stop.” Blaine tried to keep his tone firm. “It’s okay. Really. You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I’m still sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Blaine reached out to take a hold of Kurt’s other hand, too. Squeezing them both. “Has no one ever told you that you don’t always have to be completely selfless?”

“I want to be,” Kurt said, quietly. “For you. I want to be everything for you.”

“You _are_. You’re so… I think you are so amazing, Kurt. In so many ways. And I’m just… I’m going to…” Blaine took another deep breath. It was shakier, this time. “I’m pretty sure, that I’m starting to fall in love with you.”

Kurt’s eyes immediately snapped up to meet Blaine’s. He looked startled.

Almost shocked, even.

“You are?”

“I am.” Blaine smiled. And just maybe, Kurt was no longer the only one who was tearing up. “So, you should just… You can be selfish with me, Kurt. I _want you_ to be selfish with me. Sometimes, you’re going to have to let me be the one to put you first. To do things for you, because I want to. And most importantly, to be there for you when you really need me to.”

For a moment, Kurt just looked at Blaine. Tears still in his eyes.

And then he smiled.

“Okay. I guess I can try.”

Blaine exhaled.

“Good. That’s… That’s very good.”

“But can I just…” Kurt cleared his throat again, lowering his gaze. Shuffling his feet. “I need to say one more thing. And you’re not going to like it, but it’s still true.”

Blaine frowned. He already didn’t like the sound of this.

“If you must,” he allowed, reluctantly.

“I just need you to know,” Kurt said, still addressing his own feet, “That if you eventually come to the conclusion that what we have isn’t worth the complication, I will understand. One hundred percent.”

“Kurt. That’s completely ridiculous.”

“No, it’s not.” Kurt glanced up towards Blaine, a little unsurely. Yet for some reason he was smiling again. “Sometimes, I don’t even want the complication. It’s a lot to deal with. I know that better than anyone.”

Blaine hesitated for a moment, trying to think of what to say. And perhaps more importantly, what _not_ to say. In the end, though, he didn’t say anything. Before he had found the right words, Kurt had closed the distance between them, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

“It’s okay,” Kurt told him, drawing back. “I just needed to tell you that. You don’t have to say anything.”

Blaine frowned.

“You’re doing it again,” he told Kurt.

“Doing what?”

“Putting me first.”

Kurt’s smile widened.

“Maybe so. But that thing about me being selfish with you? That’s going to have to be a two-way street.”

“Is that so,” Blaine said. And now he couldn’t stop himself from returning Kurt’s adorably cheeky smile. “I guess I could get on board with that.”

“Good,” Kurt said, sounding very pleased. “Okay, then. Tell me something you want.”

“… wait, what?”

“Something you want, Blaine.” Kurt was tugging impatiently on his hands. “Right now. Tell me.”

“Something… Something from you?”

“Yes. Obviously.”

“Can it be anything?” Blaine wondered, raising an eyebrow. “Absolutely anything at all?”

It pleased him immensely when Kurt actually hesitated.

“Well... Anything within reason. I can’t work miracles.”

Blaine grinned. Widely.

“Make me a knight.”

“… say what?”

“A knight, Kurt.” Blaine took one step closer towards Kurt, crowding into his personal space. “I should like to be a knight. You can do that, right? It’s entirely possible?”

“I _can_ , yes.” Kurt’s expression had shifted, slightly. There was a rather unfamiliar glint in his eyes. “Whether or not I _will_ , is a very different matter.”

“You were the one who told me to ask for something I want.”

“Do you know what it means to become a knight, Blaine? How it’s typically earned?”

“… not really, no?”

“It’s awarded only to those who have done a great service, either to the country or to the monarch himself,” Kurt said. And now he was starting to grin. “A _great_ service, Blaine. Care to share with me just how you’re intending to accomplish that?”

There was something almost challenging in Kurt’s eyes, as he waited for Blaine to respond. Blaine couldn’t help the shiver that escaped him, just from the intensity of Kurt’s stare.

Then again, two could play at that game.

“Well,” Blaine said, pausing to let his gaze flicker down to Kurt’s lips. And perhaps even lower, come to think of it. “You should know that I’d be more than willing to _service_ the future king, regardless of honorary titles. If that’s what he’s trying to ask for?”

Kurt abruptly let his gaze drop to the ground. Still, Blaine didn’t miss the slight blush colouring his cheeks, and more importantly the bashful smile that seemed to have replaced his coy grin from before.

“That’s…” Kurt paused to draw a shaky breath. He was still smiling. “I wasn’t expecting you to actually pick up on that. Or take the bait.”

Blaine smiled, too.

“You should push me like that, more often.”

“… I should?”

“I liked it. Kurt, I might have liked it a lot. A _lot_ , a lot.”

“Really?”

“Really. When you get that determined, I just… It’s very, very irresistible.”

Kurt let out a breathless laugh.

“We should… We’re out in the forest, this isn’t…” Kurt paused, seemingly struggling to string the words together. “We should keep going. Keep walking.”

“Or turn back.”

“Turn back?”

“Whichever gets us home faster.”

“Oh,” Kurt breathed out. Almost as if the thought hadn’t occurred to him, until just then. “You want to… Really?”

“ _Yes_ , I want to. Kurt, I’ve been wanting to, it’s been…” Blaine squeezed Kurt’s hand, helplessly. “If this isn’t the right time, for you, then we don’t have to… There’s nothing we have to do. But I want you to know that for me, it’s… Now is good. Now is _very_ good.”

Kurt nodded, slowly.

And then he swiftly turned around, tugging Blaine along the same way they’d come.

 

*

 

The next day, Blaine and Kurt didn’t wake up until well past two in the afternoon.

And it wasn’t until half past three, that they’d finally managed to get themselves out of bed.

Kurt made them some kind of breakfast muffins with blueberries and sunflower seeds and rolled oats. And then he made scrambled eggs, just because. After breakfast, they lounged around the living room area of the house, with the TV on in the background even though neither of them were really paying attention. They talked, although never about anything in particular. And for long periods of time, they were quiet, content to simply stay in each other’s arms.

They had dinner quite late, pasta with shrimp and zucchini that Blaine cooked, and went back to sleep even later.

The next morning, Blaine realized that he hadn’t checked his phone since they arrived at the cottage.

He hadn’t felt so relaxed, so re-energized, in months.

They drove back that same afternoon. Blaine found that he kept glancing towards Kurt on his left, kept wanting to reach out. It was frightening, how quickly he’d gotten used to always having Kurt so close. How unfamiliar it was, to have his own hands entwined, resting in his lap.

Blaine tried to recall a time from the past two days, when the two of them hadn’t been touching in some way. He couldn’t.

“When does our plane leave, tomorrow?” Blaine asked Kurt, trying not to count backwards the hours until they had to board.

It took a moment before Kurt replied. Blaine glanced towards him again, surprised to find his expression a bit… Tense. Or thoughtful? Not quite distressed, but still agitated. Anxious.

“We’re scheduled to take off at ten in the morning.”

“Okay. Sounds good.”

Kurt glanced briefly towards Blaine.

“How do you feel? About going back?”

“It’s okay. I think. Although I suppose I haven’t really thought about it, yet?”

“I see,” Kurt said, nodding. “Makes sense.”

Kurt’s expression was still strangely apprehensive. Blaine frowned.

“What about you?” he wondered. “Does it… Will you miss being home?”

Kurt shrugged.

“It’s okay, I guess. It’s not too long until summer break, and then I’ll be back here for quite a while. So I’m actually not leaving Scherzia for very long.”

“I see,” Blaine said. Trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. “And since I’m going to… We haven’t really talked about this, but you know I’m probably going back to the US, over summer break? Or at least part of it.”

Kurt nodded, still facing the road.

“I know. But we’ll both be back in London, by the fall.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“Summer break always tends to pass so quickly, I think,” Kurt continued. “We’ll be okay.”

Blaine managed a faint smile.

“You’re right. We’ll be fine.”

They were both quiet for the rest of the ride. Blaine kept glancing over towards Kurt, increasingly concerned as the uneasiness never seemed to leave Kurt’s eyes. If anything, Kurt actually looked more and more anxious as they came closer to Armondille, and to the royal palace.

Blaine tried his best not to overthink it. After all, it was the end of spring break – it would almost have been more strange if Kurt _didn’t_ feel a bit stressed out. Blaine would have been right there with him if he’d allowed himself to start pondering the second half of the semester, and all the deadlines that would be looming frighteningly soon. Thankfully, all of that still seemed a bit too far away for Blaine to be troubled over anything specific.

That clearly wasn’t the case for Kurt.

Blaine turned towards the window on his side, closing his eyes and trying to recall Kurt’s expression from that morning, when they were still in bed. They’d been kissing, slowly, almost lazily, nothing like the heated kisses they’d exchanged the night before. And Kurt had pulled back, just slightly, to look at Blaine. He had been smiling, softly, yet with so much warmth and affection in his eyes, in the way he touched Blaine carefully, his fingers dancing across Blaine’s cheek, his collarbone, across his chest and down to his hip, teasing at the hem of his pants. Blaine had been shivering, grasping at the sheets and struggling to find the words to ask for something, _anything_. And Kurt had been watching him. Kurt had been smiling.

Kurt had been glowing.

Blaine glanced over towards Kurt again, taking in the tension in his shoulders, the apprehension in his eyes. And if Kurt hadn’t been driving the car, Blaine would have leaned over, or reached out. Would have done _something_.

Blaine settled for taking a deep breath, turning back to face the road.

 

*

 

When Blaine stepped into his and Tina’s apartment again, he almost thought that the place looked… Different, somehow.

Except that it wasn’t different. Not even a little bit. It was the same mismatched furniture, the same music sheets in a towering stack by the wall and fashion magazines all over the coffee table. Even the pile of dirty dishes in the kitchen sink looked vaguely familiar.

It wasn’t until Blaine met his own eyes in the hallway mirror, that he managed to find any trace of actual change.

“Blaine! You’re back!”

Tina came sprinting out of her room, her entire expression lit up. Blaine couldn’t help his wide smile as he pulled her into a tight hug.

“I’ve missed you so much!”

“God, I’ve missed you too,” Blaine told Tina, holding her even closer. Because it was true. “It’s been… So much has happened, you have no idea.”

“You have to tell me everything! Oh, and do you have any presents? For me?”

“Of course I do! Hang on…”

Blaine pulled off his backpack, undoing the zipper and fishing around for a moment before he pulled out a small figurine… of a goat.

“Oh, this is so… It’s really cute, Blaine.” Tina carefully took the goat from his hands, her expression only mildly confused. “Why a goat, though?”

“This is a miniature model of Kurt’s royal goat, Rufus. I’ve actually met him.”

“… you’ve met Kurt’s _what_ , now?”

 

*

 

Over the course of the next week, Blaine’s life seemingly went back to normal.

He was back in his classes, and had a whole pile of new assignments that he was somehow expected to complete at the same time as he was revising for his finals. On Tuesday, he worked his regular shift at the chocolate boutique. They had a whole new selection of seasonal truffles for spring. Among them was a soft chocolate-and-almond truffle seasoned with raspberries and topped with actual cherry flowers. Blaine bought a large box of those, thinking he’d give it to Kurt when they met up later in the week.

Unfortunately, Kurt wasn’t able to make it to their date.

_I have a massive paper due on Monday_ , he’d written to Blaine in a series of texts they exchanged on Thursday night. _It’s seriously ginormous, I’m still not sure how I’ll ever finish. I’m so sorry. Are you by any chance free Monday night?_

Blaine did meet up with Kurt on Monday night, for dinner at their favourite Italian restaurant, and then coffee and a stroll through Victoria Park. Yet it wasn’t until Blaine had made it back home, that he realized he’d completely forgotten about the chocolate.

At the time, Blaine had merely shrugged it off. Next time.

 

*

 

It was another week and a half, until Kurt was able to meet up with Blaine again. He came over to Blaine and Tina’s place, and thankfully Tina was conveniently out for the evening. Blaine was trying his best not to feel awkward, despite the fact that they’d barely had time to talk, lately. He figured making them coffee would be a good start.

“It’s just been so hectic, this past couple of weeks,” Kurt told him, his tone apologetic as he watched Blaine pour coffee into two mugs. “I’m hoping things will calm down a little. At least I’ve got that group project out of the way.”

“Finals are coming up in less than a month, though,” Blaine pointed out, gently. “Are you sleeping enough?”

Kurt shrugged.

“Most nights. I’m usually able to go to bed on time.”

“I suppose that’s good, at least.”

“Yeah.”

Once Blaine had collected the milk from the fridge, they moved to sit in the living room. On the way over, Blaine’s phone chimed. Twice. His email notification, both times. Once Blaine had set his cup down, he pulled his phone out, thinking he’d check it just quickly.

And then he saw the subject line.

“Oh my… Oh my God!”

“Did something happen?”

“I got it,” Blaine said, breathlessly, eagerly clicking the first email and skimming through it’s contents. “I got an internship, for this summer. Seven weeks at a youth music camp in Columbus. And it looks like David’s going to be there, too!”

“Music camp?” Kurt wondered, sounding somewhat surprised. “I didn’t think… When did you apply, for this?”

“Only two weeks ago.” Blaine’s mind was still reeling. “I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it, because I really didn’t think I’d get it, there’s always so many applicants… I can’t believe I got it!”

“Congratulations,” Kurt said.

He was smiling. Yet if Blaine had felt a little less overwhelmed, he might have realized there was something slightly off about his tone.

“This is going to be so great,” Blaine said, clicking his way back to read the second email. “David’s asking me when I’m going to get there. And if he can room with me. I hope he’s stopped snoring, since high school.”

“It sounds like so much fun. Will you be working with kids, then? Holding music classes, that sort of thing?”

“It’s supposed to be like that. There’s a lot of workshops, and different sessions like song writing and band practice. I actually went to this camp twice, when I was in my teens.”

“So, this is the kind of thing you want to do?” Kurt wanted to know. “I mean, once you graduate. This is why you’re studying Musical Education? This is what you want, in the future?”

“Pretty much, yes. This is going to be so _perfect_.”

“Congratulations,” Kurt repeated.

There was something different about his smile, now. Something wistful, or maybe even somewhat… Bittersweet? And this time, Blaine wasn’t too distracted to notice.

Blaine put his phone away.

“Guess what I liked the most, about this camp?”

“I don’t know,” Kurt said, unsurely. “The singing?”

Blaine shook his head.

“They have awesome wifi,” he told Kurt. “Way better than I had at home, at the time, I could stream _anything_. And rumour has it, it’s still very much up to speed. We should be able to get excellent video quality, when we skype. Which we will do. A _lot_. Okay?”

Something about Kurt’s smile shifted, then. Or maybe he just relaxed, a little bit more?

Either way, it made Blaine relax, too.

“You’ll be okay,” Kurt told Blaine, gently.

“So will you. And we’ll see each other in the fall. When we’ll both be back here, in London.”

“Yes. You know…” Kurt lowered his gaze briefly. “I’ll be starting my senior year, then. My final year.”

“I know,” Blaine said, slowly. “Are you… How do you feel, about that?”

“A bit scared,” Kurt admitted. “I expect I’ll be taking over the throne not too long after graduation.”

“Oh.” Blaine swallowed. “You’ll be… You’ll live in Scherzia. Permanently?”

“Very permanently, yes.”

“That’s… It’s hardly unexpected, but it’s not something I’ve thought about a lot.”

Kurt reached out for Blaine’s hand, taking a gentle hold of it. And somehow, he still looked more relaxed than he’d done before.

“Let’s not talk about it, right now. There’s still the rest of the semester, and then summer break, and then a whole year in London. So much will happen, before then.”

Blaine laced his finger’s together with Kurt’s, squeezing his hand tightly.

“I’m sure you’re right.”


	7. Chapter 7

If Blaine thought the last few weeks of the semester had passed in the blink of an eye, then the first week of music camp in Columbus seemed like it would never end. Maybe the hours that were supposed to take place that spring, in London, had somehow migrated into mid-June, Ohio. Or maybe Blaine just wasn’t used to his role as camp advisor, and their hectic schedule, and all the other staff members, just yet.

But at least Blaine was very, _very_ used to David.

Over the past few years, Blaine had tried to stay in touch with all his close friends from high school. Still, it had been a little difficult after he’d gone off to London and everyone else were still in the US. However, when Blaine had met up with David on the bus heading out to camp, it had felt like it’d been no less than two minutes since they’d last seen each other.

“It’s been, what? Two years?”

“Impossible,” David laughed. “I’m certain it was only two days ago that we choreographed _Raise your glass_ , in maths class. Three days, at the most.”

Blaine smiled. “Miss Norbury never quite forgave us for that one.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’s gotten over it, by now.”

“You do realize we’re going to have to be the responsible ones, this time?” Blaine pointed out. “You know, as camp advisors.”

“You’ve been responsible for as long as I’ve known you,” David said, frowning at Blaine. Almost making it sound like an accusation. “I’d say you were _born_ responsible.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Blaine said, yet he couldn’t help but grin. He had _missed_ David. “What about you? Think you can handle being a good role model for the kids? Because if you think I’m going to spend all summer holding you in check, you’re very much mistaken. You’re on your own, mate.”

“ _Mate_? You, my friend, have spent far too much time with the British.”

Blaine smiled, sheepishly. “Answer my question, dumbass.”

“Which one? Oh, that one – I’m going to be an excellent role model, thank you very much. I’m a whole new me, these days. Committed. Diligent. Simply extraordinary.”

“And modest, too?”

“Of course,” David said, grinning. “But enough about me, what’s new with you? We haven’t really talked since Christmas. Had a good semester?”

Blaine paused, trying to think of a good way to broach the topic of Kurt, and Kurt-and-Blaine, and everything that had happened since. Except it wasn’t very easy. Because this was David. _Hey, remember that crown prince from Dalton, the one I had a giant crush on? Wanna hear a funny story?_

“You still rooming with that girl, what was her name… Tracy?”

“Tina,” Blaine supplied. Deciding to take the easy way out, at least for now. “Yeah, we’re still flat-sharing. She’s great. I keep telling her you two should meet, actually. You would go so well together.”

David raised both eyebrows. Curiously.

“Is she, um. Cute? Or single? Preferably all of the above.”

Blaine grinned.

“All of the above.”

David gave a low whistle.

“All right, then. Feel free to set me up.”

“Sure,” Blaine said. “Just as soon as I figure out a way to get rid of the Atlantic ocean. Or move Europe here.”

“Damnit. I knew there’d be a catch. There’s always a catch, isn’t there?”

“Yeah,” Blaine said. His smile only faltering just a little. “More often than you’d think.”

 

*

 

“So this is Blaine, everyone,” the camp vocal instructor introduced him. “He’s one of our camp advisors and is going to be in charge of song writing sessions. Blaine, why don’t you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?”

Blaine looked out towards the crowd, taking in all the teenagers craning their necks to get a look at him, and smiled.

“So I’m from Ohio, just like many of you guys, and I actually went to this camp twice when I was younger. Right now I’m studying musical education at Kings College London. I love song writing myself, so I’m really looking forward to working with you all and getting to know everyone this summer.”

“Thank you, Blaine. Any questions?”

For a moment, it was quiet. And then…

“Single or taken?”

It was David, of course, who had called from the back of the room. Quite a few people laughed. Blaine ducked his head, smiling towards the floor.

“Taken. Although my boyfriend is in Europe at the moment, so if you ever wonder why I seem to spend a lot of time skyping, well, now you know.”

“Okay, so, next person. Sabrina, I think? Could you come up here?”

Blaine took that as his que to walk back to the others. As he resumed his place next to David, David nudged him in the side, both eyebrows raised high.

“I’ll tell you later,” Blaine promised, his voice quiet.

“Sure,” David said. And then, “You didn’t tell me before.”

“It’s a little… Complicated? You could say that there’s circumstances.”

“Okay,” David said, nodding. “You’re definitely telling me everything, later.”

“I will.”

“I’m happy for you, though.” David smiled a little. “It’s obvious you really like him.”

Blaine smiled, too.

“I do. I really do.”

 

*

 

It took just over a week before Blaine and Kurt managed to find a good routine for their Skype calls.

When Blaine woke up, Kurt had usually already been awake for a few hours. Most days he was halfway through some kind of meeting, and sometimes he was busy making a public appearance or travelling from one appointment to another. Blaine answered Kurt’s good morning text either way, and then went on to tackle his morning song writing sessions. It was only after that, mid-day in America during Blaine’s lunch break and early evening in Europe when Kurt’s schedule had wrapped up for the day, that Kurt and Blaine could find themselves available around the same time.

The video quality was good. Very good, even. Blaine could see Kurt clearly in the image on his computer, could hear the warmth and affection in his tone. Yet sometimes, he found himself unbearably aware of the actual distance between them. It was almost as though it was a tangible thing, something that could be touched, and seen, and certainly felt. Even on a good day, Blaine found himself struggling to fall asleep in the evening, his whole being aching from it.

And on a bad day, it was much worse.

On a bad day, Blaine could wander about as though in a daze, too focused on Kurt’s shorter-than-usual morning text to do much else than turn the words over in his mind, again and again. Had Kurt simply been in a hurry? Or was something wrong? Did he think this thing between them wasn’t working, anymore? Even though they’d been through so much, during the few, short months that their relationship had lasted for.

At least the bad days were far and few in between.

Most days were good days. And on a good day, Blaine smiled as he replied to Kurt’s good morning text, and laughed along with the kids as he introduced them to different styles of music and how to write them, and he didn’t even feel too bad as he left David and the others at their lunch table as quickly as possible, so that he had time to talk to Kurt before lunch break was over. And on a really good day, Kurt didn’t look anything but proud and happy as Blaine eagerly told him all about camp, and the kids, and the progress they were making, and how talented some of them actually seemed to be.

Still. Not every day was a really good day.

“It sounds wonderful,” Kurt said, offering a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I think you’ve mentioned that girl Miranda, before? So she’s actually pretty good?”

“So good,” Blaine confirmed, eagerly. “I don’t think she’s ever tried writing much of anything, before, but she’s really got a knack for it. I love how she works with melodies, and the way she keeps rhyming with the same syllables in different ways. There’s something really fresh about her style. But the greatest thing is, I don’t think she had _any_ idea that she could do this, before she came to camp. It’s almost like I’m watching the process of someone who’s slowly realizing just what they want to do with their life, and it’s just… It’s wonderful. Really. I honestly can’t quite believe that I’m here. Doing this.”

Kurt was still smiling.

“I’m very happy for you,” he said, quietly. “Hey, I might have to get going, soon. I have this really early flight to catch tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Blaine frowned slightly. “Okay. Going somewhere interesting?”

“Just to Rome, for a couple of days. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it because it’s not a such a long trip. I’ll be back on Thursday, so I was hoping we could talk then…?”

“Of course.” Blaine tried his best to smile. “I’m going to miss you, though.”

Kurt smiled, too. And this time, it certainly reached his eyes.

“I’m going to miss you too. So much. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

“Okay. Sleep well, Kurt.”

“Good night, Blaine.”

It took Blaine just a little bit longer than usually to fall asleep, that night.

 

*

 

“Hey. I didn’t think anyone was still here.”

“Sorry, I’m sorry.” Miranda quickly got up from her seat in the empty music room, folding a paper she’d been holding in her hands. “I’m going to sleep. Straight away.”

“Right,” Blaine said. Only then realizing that it was past her curfew. _Way_ past it, actually. “Were you working on something?”

“Just my ballad. You know, the ones we were writing last week.”

“I know. _In the eye of the beholder_ , right?”

Miranda nodded, looking more than a little surprised.

“I can’t believe you’d remember that,” she said. “There’s more than a hundred kids, at this camp.”

“It was a good song,” Blaine said.

He’d told her as much in front of everyone else, at the presentation. Saying it to her again in private shouldn’t count as playing favourites.

“It’s not finished, though.”

“It’s not?”

Miranda shook her head firmly.

“I feel like there’s something missing. Or maybe it’s a bit… Much? I’m not sure. But I do know that it’s not done, not yet.”

Blaine nodded, slowly. Trying to actually think about it.

“Can I take a look?”

Miranda only hesitated for a moment, before handing him the paper. Blaine couldn’t help smiling a little, as he quickly read through the lyrics again. He still really, _really_ liked them, and he knew the other teachers and advisors agreed with him.

“You could try adding a third verse?” he suggested.

Miranda frowned.

“Too repetitive.”

“How about an intro, then? Maybe in a lower key?”

“No, it’s starting right where it’s supposed to. It’s the ending that bothers me.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a bit of a perfectionist?”

“… I actually get that a lot.”

Blaine smiled.

“Why don’t you sleep on it,” he said, handing her the lyric sheet back. “Take another look tomorrow, with fresh eyes. Or maybe even next week. Let the lyrics rest for a bit, before getting back to them.”

Miranda made a face.

“I’d rather just finish this, and _then_ start my next project.”

“Well,” Blaine said. “Things don’t always work out the way we want them to. Sometimes they work out in a different way.”

Miranda sighed, carefully folding the paper once more.

“I sure hope you’re right, Mr Anderson.”

“No, that’s – it’s _Blaine_ , how many times do I have to tell you lot to call me Blaine?”

Miranda grinned, already heading for the door.

“Good night, Mr Anderson!”

 

*

 

“Blaine? Can I ask you something?”

“Sure. Although you should know that Tina is going to skype me any minute, now.”

“That’s okay, this is hopefully only going to take a second.” David was holding up one of the course catalogues that Blaine had left lying in around in their room. “Please tell me you circled this class by mistake.”

Blaine looked over, reading the title of the class that David was referring to. _Introduction to Diplomacy and International Relations, 3 Credits._

Well.

“You could say that I’m considering it?” Blaine said, shrugging lightly. “As one of my electives, next semester. I don’t see why not.”

“Blaine, no.” David was shaking his head. “This is a terrible idea.”

“Why so?”

“You should be taking the classes you want to take, and more importantly the classes you are going to need, for _your_ future. You wouldn’t exactly be taking this class for your own sake, now would you?”

“Calm down, David. It’s not like I’m changing my major to political science. It’s three credits, okay? Just three credits.”

“And if Kurt was fitting in some kind of intro to music teaching in his electives?” David said, continuing before Blaine even had the chance to respond. “You’d say that was a waste of time, for him, and you’d be right. Just as I’m right when I say that this is a waste of time for you.”

“I don’t know, I just…” Blaine sighed. “I just figured it couldn’t hurt? To try and understand everything Kurt’s preparing himself for, a little more. I thought he’d be happy.”

“Wait, so you haven’t even talked to him about this yet? Blaine, _no_.”

“But if I talk to him about it, he’s just going to say that I don’t need to do this for him.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear at least one of you two are being sensible about all this.”

Blaine would have replied, except at that moment, a familiar tune was heard from Blaine’s computer. Tina was calling.

“Now you be nice,” Blaine told David sternly, before taking the call. “Hi, Tina!”

“Blaine! It’s so good to see you! Oh, and is that… You must be David, I think?”

“Hi Blaine’s British flatmate Tina!” David waved excitedly over Blaine’s shoulder. “Could you please help me convince Blaine not to pick any stupid course in diplomacy for dummies next semester?”

“What? Blaine, _no_.”

Blaine groaned.

Over the course of the next ten minutes, David and Tina managed to persuade Blaine that he was much better off taking any of the classes which focused on music as a pedagogical tool, than anything even remotely resembling a class in international relations. After that, Blaine actually felt compelled to leave David and Tina alone for a little bit. Because just as he had predicted, they were getting along swimmingly.

 

*

 

Kurt had been right. Summer vacation was passing by quicker than Blaine had ever expected it to. Four weeks had already come and gone, and now Blaine found himself right in the middle of week five, trying to get the kids to understand and appreciate jazz music.

A few of the campers, the ones who had experience playing some kind of brass instrument or doing jazz dance, were having a tremendous time. Others seemed to have more difficulty getting into this week’s assignment. And to Blaine’s surprise, Miranda appeared to be among them.

“Making any progress?”

Miranda looked up from her completely empty sheet of paper, shaking her head.

“Sorry. I’m a bit distracted, I think.”

“That’s all right.” Blaine took a seat next to her, following her gaze out across the music room. “Are you thinking about something in particular?”

Miranda shrugged.

“I’m just really going to miss this, is all. This camp has been… I’ve had the best time here, Mr Anderson.”

Blaine smiled.

“I’m glad to hear that. And hey, it’s not over yet. There’s still two weeks left, after this one.”

Yet to Blaine’s surprise, Miranda wasn’t smiling.

“Actually, I’m going to have to leave this Friday.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, completely taken by surprise. “But that’s… Why?”

For some reason, Miranda turned to stare incredulously at him.

“You can’t tell?”

“No,” Blaine said, honestly. “You just said you’ve been enjoying yourself, here?”

“Of _course_ I have. But do you know how crazily expensive it is for me to be here? For any of us to be here?” Miranda sighed. “You said you used to be a camper yourself, you should know what the fees are.”

Blaine blinked. Trying to recall how much it had cost for him, to go to summer music camp. It wasn’t something he’d thought a whole lot about, at the time. He had just asked his parents, and they’d immediately signed him up for it.

“I’m only here because I managed to get a scholarship,” Miranda continued. “It wasn’t enough for the whole summer, but I was allowed to book my stay only for five weeks. They made some kind of exception.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, slowly. “But… You’ll continue this, when you come home? You’ll still make music?”

Miranda shook her head, firmly.

“I doubt I’m going to have time for that, Mr Anderson. I need to get back to my part-time job. My mom doesn’t make much, you see. And I have three younger sisters. They’ve never gotten to do anything like this, so it’s got to be their turn next time an opportunity comes along.”

“So you… You won’t come back here, next year?”

“I’m thinking about working full time next summer. I could really help my mom, if I did.”

They were both quiet for a while. Blaine was still trying to process everything Miranda had just told him, trying to understand how Miranda could be the one offering _him_ a comforting smile.

“You must have noticed,” she told him, something very careful about her tone. “All the other kids have really nice clothes, and lots of things. Some of them brought their own guitars. No one else has washed out jeans and holes in their shoes. You must have _noticed_.”

Blaine shook his head.

“I honestly didn’t.”

Miranda still looked a bit doubtful.

“Anyway,” she continued. “This is my last week here. So I guess I’d better get _something_ written. Even though I think jazz is really stupid.”

Blaine smiled.

“I’m still hoping to convince you otherwise.”

Miranda shook her head firmly.

“I’ve really enjoyed your song-writing sessions, Mr Anderson. But not even you are going to get me to like jazz.”

Blaine laughed a little as he moved on to his next student. For the rest of his session, he had to force himself to keep focus as he spoke to the other kids. He wasn’t sure if they noticed that he wasn’t quite his usual, enthusiastic self, but at least he managed to get through the session without completely messing things up.

Thankfully, it was his last group for the day.

As soon as the campers had left, Blaine bolted out the door to the music room, hurrying over to the staff quarters. He immediately made his way over to the room where the head vocal coach was staying, barely taking the time to knock before entering.

“Sorry,” he told the very startled vocal coach, who seemed to have been halfway through pouring herself a glass of mineral water (judging by the mess on the floor). “It’s about Miranda.”

“Oh,” the instructor said, carefully setting down her glass. “So you’ve heard.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?”

The vocal instructor raised an eyebrow.

“You mean in addition to letting her stay here less than the minimum of seven weeks we enforce for every other camper?”

“Well, that’s…” Blaine frowned. “She says she’s not going to be able to come back, next year. She isn’t even going to be able to continue pursuing music at all.”

“I know, Blaine. I talked to her mom for a bit, when they came to drop her off.”

“But can’t we… Can she get a reduced fee? Or is there any program that she can join, at home? Or just… Something. There’s got to be _something_.”

“Blaine,” the instructor said, something careful in her tone. “Sometimes, we have to let people make their own decisions, in order to deal with the situation they’re in.”

“But that’s… It’s just not fair. She’s so talented.”

“Miranda wants to try and work more next year, to help support her family,” the vocal instructor said, speaking very calmly. “Her mother told me she’d love to be able to tell Miranda that she doesn’t have to, but they simply don’t have that luxury. That’s their reality. And no matter how much we’d like to change that there isn’t very much either of us could do. The best way to make any kind of difference when it comes to things like that, would probably be to get into politics.”

Blaine froze.

“… Blaine? You okay?” The vocal instructor was looking sort of unsurely towards Blaine, now. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, that’s… No.” Blaine tried to smile a little, despite the fact that his mind was still reeling. “I’ve just never looked at it that way before.”

“At what, exactly?”

“Politics,” Blaine said. And somehow, it was if the word itself had a different sound to it. “I’ve been so focused on becoming a music teacher so that I can make a difference for young people by introducing them to music and the arts, but maybe that’s… Maybe I’ve been dreaming too small.”

The vocal instructor raised both of her eyebrows.

“Please tell me you’re not planning on running for office. Any office.”

“No,” Blaine said, firmly. “Of course not. That would be stupid. But maybe, there are a lot of other things I could do, that I’ve never even thought to consider before.”

 

*

 

Blaine couldn’t say he remembered much of the conversations from dinner that night. His mind was still buzzing, full of different ideas for entirely possible things he could probably actually do in his future. Things which meant that he could be helping people, more than he’d ever even dreamed of before. He couldn’t wait to tell Kurt all about it the next time they got a chance to Skype.

A few minutes after eight o’clock that evening, Blaine received a text. From Kurt.

This wasn’t exactly anything strange in itself. Kurt typically texted Blaine any and every chance he got. Still, Blaine usually didn’t receive them in the evening.

Probably because it was currently past two am in Scherzia.

Confused, Blaine opened Kurt’s text.

_call me as soon as you get this_

Blaine’s heart sank. Quickly, he pressed call. Kurt picked up almost instantly.

“Blaine?”

“Kurt,” Blaine breathed out. “Are you okay?”

 “I’m… No.” Kurt’s voice was shaky. “I’m not okay. Nothing is very okay right now.”

“What’s happening?”

“It’s the queen, she’s… She had a heart attack. She’s alive, but she’s… It’s not looking too good.”

“Shit,” Blaine said. Nothing if not eloquent. “That’s… I’m so sorry, Kurt. Could she make it?”

“They don’t know. They don’t know much of anything, right now. But it’s very possible that she… That I might have to step in. Quite soon.”

“Okay,” Blaine said. Trying to think clearly. “That’s very, very unexpected.”

“You could say that.”

“Do people know, yet?”

Kurt gave a shaky laugh.

“There hasn’t been an official statement, so of course the whole country’s talking about it. Parliament are having an emergency session in an hour, to appoint committees for two events that we may or may not need to organize quite soon. I’m heading over there to join them. There’s a live panel on TV that I’m trying to watch as little as I can manage, since they’re currently discussing whether or not I’ll be good at the job I was born to do. Oh, and Quinn fucking Fabray has already published three brand new columns on exactly why I am going to suck. So I guess her verdict is out, to the great surprise of nobody.”

“Kurt,” Blaine said, for some reason actually smiling a little. “You’ll be fine. You know you’ll be fine.”

“Of course I will be fine.” Kurt almost sounded like he believed himself. Almost. “I just wish... I wish it didn’t have to be like this. I wish my aunt wasn’t dying. Probably dying.”

“I know,” Blaine said, gently. “Listen, Kurt. When was the last time you ate?”

“A while ago. I think. I’m actually not sure. There’s been… It’s been a very eventful night.”

“Try to eat something, then. At least before you leave for that thing… Parliament?”

“Yes, Blaine. That thing parliament.”

“Hey, at least I remembered,” Blaine said, immensely relieved to hear the hint of a smile in Kurt’s voice. “What were you going to discuss, again? At parliament?”

“We’re appointing event committees. Two of them.”

“For what events?”

“Well, we still don’t know whether or not we’ll need to organize anything at all. But we need to be prepared, either way.” Kurt drew a shaky breath. “One committee is for a royal funeral, and the other for a coronation.”

For a moment, Blaine wasn’t quite sure what to say to that.

“Blaine? You still there?”

“I’m here. I just hadn’t quite thought… I mean, of course I had thought that might happen, because you just told me so. But I hadn’t actually considered…” Blaine swallowed. “You would be the king.”

“Yes, Blaine,” Kurt said, his tone almost worried. “Are you actually realizing that _now_?”

“Maybe a little bit,” Blaine said, slowly. “Aren’t you?”

“No, that’s… No.” Kurt’s voice was shaking again, despite the determination in his tone. “Of course not. I’ve known all my life. I’ve prepared for this all my life.”

“Kurt,” Blaine said, his heart aching more than ever from the distance between them. “You weren’t prepared for it to happen like this. You don’t need to feel okay, right at this moment. Please try not to ask so much of yourself.”

“But I still need to keep going. There’s meetings, and parliament, and I need to… I need to do this. I have to get through this.”

Kurt’s voice was breaking.

Blaine checked his watch.

“Okay,” he said. “Kurt? I’m going to come over.”

“You’re… What?” Kurt sounded genuinely confused. “Blaine, I’m in Europe.”

“I know,” Blaine said, feeling strangely calm. “But I can’t just stay here and try to act like everything is normal. I’m going to be so worried, I’d be pretty much useless anyway. Besides, you’re going to need all the support you can get. So I’m going to go. I’ll go to Scherzia. Tonight, hopefully.”

“Blaine, no,” Kurt said, yet it was a weak protest. “You can’t just leave everything and go to Europe, not for me. This internship is pretty much exactly what you want to do after you graduate so you really need it for your resume, and you’re… I know you’ve been having such a great time. I wouldn’t ever ask you to leave.”

“I know you wouldn’t,” Blaine said patiently. “But Kurt, I think this is something that I really need to do, for you. Something that you’re simply going to need to let me do for you.”

“But Blaine, I just can’t… I can’t. _You_ can’t.” Kurt almost sounded like he was smiling, again. “Is there anything I can do to change your mind?”

“I don’t think so?”

Kurt let out a shaky laugh.

“This is crazy.”

“Yes, well,” Blaine said, lightly. “So, I really need to book a flight. I’ll text you as soon as I’ve got all the details settled.”

“All right, then. If you must.” It sounded a bit like Kurt was trying very hard to sound reproachful. He wasn’t succeeding very well. “I’ll send a car, to the airport. It’ll take you to wherever I happen to be by the time you land. My schedule is very… No one really knows anything about anything.”

“I’ll be there,” Blaine said, firmly. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

 

*

 

“But who’s going to take care of song-writing sessions for the last two weeks?”

“I know a guy,” David said quickly. “His name is Jeff, and he lives outside of Columbus. Great singer, excellent composer, could be here by tomorrow. I’m sure I could even get him to pretend his name is Blaine, if that makes the transition easier. And hey, he can room with me!”

Blaine silently hoped Jeff would ever forgive him.

 

*

 

It felt strange, Blaine thought, to be stepping off the plane at Armondille Airport.

Probably partly because he had never actually been there before.

The plane had been almost full, but not quite. However, there seemed to be several passengers who had booked a ticket very last minute, just like Blaine. Quite a few people had showed up a bit late to their gate, and so their departure had been delayed for a bit. Usually, when Blaine was on a plane across the Atlantic, he didn’t think half an hour delay mattered that much. This time, however, he was feeling uncharacteristically impatient.

At least he’d been able to get some sleep on the plane.

Almost as soon as Blaine got to arrivals, he spotted a large sign bearing his name. However, he was immensely surprised to see that Rachel Berry was the one holding it.

“You’re late,” she greeted him, her tone rather brisk. “Come on, my car is this way.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, falling into step beside her. “How are things?”

“Very uncertain,” Rachel said shortly. “Queen Anne is still in intensive medical care.”

“So she’s alive?”

“Yes, but her condition is far from stable.”

“How is Kurt?”

“He’s coping,” Rachel said, her expression softening a bit. “He was up almost all night, first at parliament and then in his office. Mike made him rest for a bit this morning, but it’s been a busy afternoon. I’ve at least managed to cancel or postpone all his appointments for the rest of the day. He needs a break.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, nodding. “Thank you so much.”

“… for what?”

“For everything that you’ve obviously done for him,” Blaine said. “I wish I could have been here, sooner.”

Rachel glanced briefly towards Blaine.

“Before Kurt called you yesterday, I asked him if I should prepare for you to join us,” she said, something almost curious in her tone. “But he said no. He said he wasn’t going to ask you to come?”

“He didn’t,” Blaine said, smiling a little. “But I sort of… I just had to be here. You could say that I didn’t leave it up for discussion.”

Rachel nodded, slowly.

“Right then,” she said. And suddenly, there was something very unfamiliar in her tone. If Blaine hadn’t known better, he would almost have thought she sounded… Pleased? “I’m driving you straight to the royal palace. Kurt’s heading back there as we speak, so we’ll see if he’s there to greet us or if we beat him to it. Kurt really needs to rest tonight, so I was hoping I could count on you to make sure he takes it easy?”

“Sure,” Blaine said, trying not to feel too perplexed by Rachel’s bright tone. “I’ll do my best.”

Rachel turned towards him again. And this time, she was actually smiling.

“I’m sure you can think of _something_ , to keep him distracted.”

Blaine, too startled to think of anything to say in return, just stared at her. And Rachel, to Blaine’s great surprised, actually laughed.

“Oh, you should have seen your face just now! I wish I’d taken a picture. I do hope you’ll stick around, Blaine. It would be a terrible waste if I didn’t get to tease you about this for years to come.”

 

*

 

Rachel and Blaine made it to the palace before Kurt.

“You should head to the east wing,” Rachel told him. “I’m sure Kurt would appreciate seeing you in private, first. I’ll tell him where to find you, when he gets here.”

And so it happened that Blaine headed over to the east wing on his own.

The place looked very much the same as Blaine remembered it from early spring, except for a few, small differences. The curtains in Kurt’s bedroom were a different colour, and there was a small pile of what looked like dirty laundry by the foot of Kurt’s bed. A half empty cup of what had to be day-old coffee sat on Kurt’s bedside table. It looked a lot like Kurt had left the place in a hurry.

Which was probably the case, come to think of it.

There was also a thick book on Kurt’s bedside table that Blaine didn’t recognize. Just as Blaine walked over to take a look at it, however, there was a sound from behind him.

Blaine turned around.

Which was a good thing, since Kurt had literally thrown himself at Blaine as soon as he had gotten the door opened.

“Hey,” Blaine said, gently wrapping his arms around Kurt. “It’s okay. I’m right here.”

“I know,” Kurt managed, and Blaine belatedly realized that he was crying. “I’m just… Shit, I’m such a mess.”

“It’s okay,” Blaine repeated softly. “I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.”

Kurt didn’t respond. Instead, he simply clutched Blaine tighter.

It took quite a while before Kurt stopped shaking. Blaine was fairly certain that he stopped crying after a minute or two, but he still didn’t let go of Blaine. Not that Blaine minded. After being apart for so long, he was more than content to simply stand there, holding Kurt as closely as he could.

After what had to be more than ten minutes, Kurt spoke up again.

“I guess you’re pretty jet lagged?”

“Yeah. It’s fine, though.”

“Do you want to sleep?”

“Maybe in a while? We could talk, first. If you want.”

Kurt took a shivering breath.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Are you scared?”

“Yes,” Kurt said immediately. “Although it’s… It’s all right, somehow. It’s almost like I’ve gotten used to being frightened.”

Blaine reached down to take a firm hold of Kurt’s hand.

“It shouldn’t have to be like this,” he said quietly.

Kurt took a careful step backwards. His face was tear-streaked, yet for some reason he was smiling a little.

“It’s all right,” he repeated. “Blaine… Can I tell you something?”

Blaine blinked, surprised.

“You can talk to me about anything, Kurt. Of course you can.”

“There’s just something that’s… That I’ve promised myself to tell you, the next time we come face to face. Which is now.”

“So it is,” Blaine acknowledged. “Okay, um. Shoot.”

Kurt was quiet for a brief moment, before nodding slowly to himself. Almost as if he’d needed to think something through. “Before I ‘shoot’, can we just… Sit down? Maybe?”

“Sure,” Blaine said. And now he was starting to feel a bit weary. “Kurt? You’re scaring me, just a little bit.”

“Just… Come, Blaine. Sit.”

Kurt led them over to the bed, where they sat down next to each other. They were still holding hands, but Kurt wasn’t quite facing Blaine anymore. Blaine wasn’t sure if that made him more or less nervous about whatever Kurt was about to tell him.

But at least Kurt looked a little calmer, as he started talking.

“Sometimes, I… I like to think about what other people might be looking for in life.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, unsurely. Wondering where Kurt could possibly be going with this. “Other people?”

“People who are more like most people?” Kurt supplied, his smile widening slightly. “You know, people who are hoping to meet someone who’s nice, and not completely hopeless, and who they could hopefully introduce to their mom, someday. There have been many times when I’ve thought that sounds kind of… Nice. It would be nice if that was all I needed to look for.”

If Blaine had felt a bit uneasy, when Kurt had started to talk, it was nothing compared to how he felt now. It took him more than a little bit of effort to keep himself from panicking completely.

“Because it’s different, for me,” Kurt continued, still facing the floor. “I’m looking for so much more. I need someone who I can introduce to an entire _country_. Someone who’s not just nice, but also compassionate, and respectful, and true to themselves. Someone with a strong sense of integrity and morality. Someone with their own goals and ambitions, who is still able to understand and support mine.”

Blaine squeezed Kurt’s hand lightly.

“You’ve clearly given this a lot of thought,” he said quietly.

It was the only thing he could think of saying that wasn’t anything along the lines of _I only wish I could live up to all of that_ , or alternatively _well, fuck_.

“I have,” Kurt agreed, nodding, “And it’s been… I’ve dated a lot of nice guys. I’d even call a couple of them really nice. But there hasn’t been anyone, before, who hasn’t made me terrified from the realisation that it’s entirely possible that no one will ever measure up to this absurd set of qualifications that I seem to have decided on.”

Blaine turned sideways, then, to actually look at Kurt. And although he had heard everything Kurt had just said, his mind was spinning from the possibilities opened by one single, significant word.

“Before?”

Kurt laced his fingers together with Blaine’s. He was still looking down, yet his eyes didn’t seem to be focused on the floor any more. It was more like his gaze was fixed on a point somewhere in mid-air, staring without really seeing.

“It’s different with you,” he said, a slight tremble in his voice, now. “Really different. I’m still scared, when I think about the future and what it could hold for us. But you, Blaine, you’re just so… The more I’ve gotten to know you, the more I’ve realized that you could actually be exactly right, for me.”

“You think?” Blaine wondered, his tone more doubtful than he would have liked it.

“I really do,” Kurt said, his tone firm. “Although to be completely honest, I didn’t get that impression when we first started seeing each other.”

Blaine let out a shaky laugh.

“I could barely believe it at all, when you first asked me out.”

Kurt smiled.

“You seemed like a great guy and you’re _so_ attractive, plus you always seemed to be looking my way, so I thought… I hadn’t been seeing anyone, for quite a while. I thought it could be nice – I thought _you_ seemed really nice. But then I started to get to know you, and I quickly began to realize that you are someone really special. You’re thoughtful, and respectful, and just so incredibly considerate. And it’s been… I’ve sort of been waiting for the moment when something would make me realize that you’re not right for me, after all. But it just hasn’t come. Instead you’ve kept ticking off my boxes one by one, without fail. And somehow, that terrifies me in a way that I never thought it could.”

Blaine wasn’t sure what to say to that, what he could ever have said to something like that. He took a deep breath, instead, trying to make himself feel a little less hysterical.

When Kurt finally turned to face Blaine again, he was looking a little bit uncertain.

“That’s basically what I needed to say. So… Thank you. For listening.”

“Kurt,” Blaine started. Because now he definitely needed to say something. “No matter how your life turns out over the next few days, I think we should… We should talk more, about the future. Because I think we’re… We are so great together. And right now, nothing makes me happier than the idea of always being with you.”

“Even if it involves one or two complications?” Kurt wondered unsurely. “Because I know that I’m… I sort of have a few things that I’ve got to live up to.”

“I know,” Blaine said firmly. “And I wouldn’t say I don’t care about that, but rather that I think it’s… You’re so amazing, Kurt. And I want to support you, in every way that I can.”

Kurt smiled tentatively.

“You might have to live in Scherzia,” he pointed out.

“I’m open to that idea,” Blaine told him honestly. “I like Scherzia. And I have things I want to do that… That I could do anywhere. Why not here?”

“I’d probably expect you to marry me, eventually.”

“Well. I can’t imagine that will be much of a hardship.”

To Blaine’s delight, that made Kurt laugh softly.

“You’d most likely have some kind of ceremonial royal duty to fulfil, regardless of whether or not you’d accept a formal title.”

“Oh,” Blaine said, actually pausing for a moment. “So… Does that mean I’d get my own royal goat?”

Kurt grinned.

“Maybe,” he said, his tone suddenly coy. “What would you name your royal goat, Blaine?”

“Um,” Blaine said. Because he certainly hadn’t thought about that. “Can I get back to you on that?”

“Of course,” Kurt said, his smile softening again. “We should probably think very carefully about a lot of different things.”

“Yes,” Blaine said, squeezing Kurt’s hand in his and trying wrap his mind around how in the world he ever managed to get this lucky. “I guess we should.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only one chapter left after this one, and as you may have realized from this chapter the next part is going to be more of an epilogue. I'm hoping to be able to post it sometime during next week.


	8. Chapter 8

_ Apparently, miracles really do happen! – Political journalist Quinn Fabray interviews His Royal Highness Kurt E. Hummel! _

_Read the full story in Fabray’s own words as she tells the tale of how this unlikely interview came to be, not to mention all the unexpectedly personal revelations about His Royal Highness that came along the way. You read it here first: His Royal Highness Kurt E. Hummel is in L O V E! And is that wedding bells we hear in the distance? Quick, get your copy of Scherzia Daily before they’re all gone!_

 

**In which Mr Kurt Hummel makes a personal announcement – one that concerns not only the whole country, but also someone quite special**

It is common knowledge that Kurt Hummel, despite being an exceptionally public figure, is anything but open in regards to his private life. I have several colleagues who have tried and failed countless times to get our young ruler to sit down for an in-depth interview. His friends and closest staff members seem equally tight-lipped, as there have only been rare instances when a story containing comments from someone close to his highness have been published (and if you want my professional opinion, those articles were all complete fiction). It has seemed that Mr Hummel simply intends to keep his private and professional lives very separate, except perhaps for his candid announcement regarding his sexuality almost seven years ago.

So imagine my surprise when I first got a call from Mr Hummel’s assistant asking if I would be interested in writing a piece on our newly crowned king, ‘with a personal interview as the main focus’.

If it had been any other celebrity, I would have politely declined – personal portraits sprinkled with gossipy anecdotes were never quite my style. However, as my long-time readers are well aware, I have written more than my fair share of columns criticising Mr Hummel and his politics, not to mention the embarrassingly outdated monarchy that he represents. (Several of those articles were award-winning, thank you very much.) With all of this in mind, I can’t say that I wasn’t curious about why in the world this offer had been made to me, specifically, and not to any of my talented (and arguably far more pleasant) colleagues over at the Lifestyle section.

I accepted the offer. We scheduled a meeting only two days later. I arrived at the palace about eight minutes early, and was shown into a small library in the east wing (readers should note that this part of the palace is known to be Kurt Hummel’s private residence). There, I was greeted not only by the ever-charming royal himself, but also by a decidedly familiar dark-haired gentleman standing at his side.

And suddenly, in that exact moment, the whole situation suddenly started to make sense.

Yet all I could think was, _I’m never going to come up with a headline to do this story justice._

We sat down. Mr Hummel’s assistant lingered to offer everyone present coffee or tea, and then promptly excused herself. Leaving the three of us completely alone.

Mr Hummel wasted no time in addressing the elephant in the room, introducing the man by his side. Blaine Anderson, twenty-four years old from the US (Ohio, to be specific). A graduate from King’s College, London, with a musical education major. Currently living in Armondille and working at a music school for kids aged five-to-fifteen, as well as at his own non-profit ‘Hearts for the Arts’. Polite and very amiable, if a little shy.

And, perhaps most importantly, his royal highness Kurt Hummel’s fiancé.

“We’ve been a couple for the past four and a half years,” Mr Hummel revealed. “We haven’t wanted to address the rumours about us until we were very sure about where we were going with this. Blaine proposed to me two months ago, and after that we started to make plans for how to best make the announcement. After we’d decided to open up about everything in a joint interview, I immediately thought of you, Miss Fabray.”

Some of my surprise at the whole situation (and perhaps in particular at myself being Mr Hummel’s first choice for the occasion) must have shown on my face, because Mr Hummel quickly continued.

“We may not always see eye to eye, Miss Fabray, but I have always had great respect for your work, not to mention your professionalism and your impeccable integrity. We thought that if someone could break this news respectfully and accurately, it would be you.”

I don’t think I’ve ever received such a direct compliment from Mr Hummel before (perhaps for good reason), and I’m not going to lie – I was definitely starting to feel the pressure of getting this exactly right. As we moved on to begin the actual interview, I had to make a conscious effort to keep my cool. I quickly decided to set aside the sheet of questions I’d brought with me, because given the unexpected turn of events I would simply have to improvise. Fortunately, I had absolutely no trouble at all coming up with new questions that felt both relevant and actually quite urgent. However, I just as quickly decided to postpone all of those questions for just a minute or two.

Because even though I wanted nothing more than to launch into a discussion about what Mr Anderson’s role would be as husband of the king, and if he was even remotely qualified for any kind of diplomatic position, I knew that my boss would no doubt call for my resignation unless I also made sure to get something out of the couple that could be advertised as ‘exclusive and personal’.

**How did Mr Anderson propose?**

“In a most romantic way,” Mr Hummel answered, something very final about his tone. “Next question.”

**May I see the ring?**

Mr Hummel had no objection, here. It’s a beautiful piece of jewellery, rose gold with an intricate pattern engraved into the surface. “It used to belong to my grandfather,” Mr Anderson explained. “When I told my dad that I was going to propose, he insisted that I should have it. I thought it was absolutely perfect, and fortunately for me, so did Kurt.”

**Do you have a date set for the wedding?**

“Not yet, but probably in about a year and a half. We would have liked to do it sooner, but apparently it’s going to take quite some time to put together the whole affair,” Mr Hummel told me. “Not much is decided at the moment, but I’m sure there will be some kind of committee.”

After those three question, I simply couldn’t resist switching topics to something actually relevant.

**Will Mr Anderson receive a royal title after your marriage? What is the plan for his career after the transition, will he be keeping his old job or will he receive an apanage from the Scherzian parliament? Will this increase the cost of the royal family for Scherzian tax payers** _?_

“I’m still going to be working as before, although not quite full-time,” Mr Anderson stated. “I will be supporting Kurt in some of his work, in particular his involvement with charities and occasionally hosting state visits. I will not receive an apanage as such, but I will be paid a salary that corresponds to the work that I do. In addition, I am going to be living with Kurt at the royal palace starting next month. And I’m afraid there’s not yet any final decision on whether or not I’ll receive a title after our marriage, but apparently there’s a committee for that, too.”

“They’re leaning towards ‘prince Blaine’, at the moment,” Mr Hummel filled in. “I personally think it has quite a nice ring to it, but contrary to popular belief, I don’t make all the decisions around this place.”

**Do you think of your decision to marry Mr Anderson as some kind of political statement?**

“I’m well aware that many other people will view the matter in this light,” Mr Hummel said. “But for me, it is first and foremost a personal matter. I want to marry this man because I love him. And although we’ve discussed our marriage in relation to a number of other things along the way, at the end of the day, it really is that simple.”

**Do you expect there will be any kind of backlash from the more conservative corners of our nation, after your engagement is announced?**

“Oh, I’m very sure there will be,” Mr Hummel said, exchanging a smile with Mr Anderson. “But just like before, I’m sure it’ll quiet down again after the initial commotion. People have plenty of time to get used to the idea of our marriage, before the wedding.”

**Can we expect any statement from the former queen regarding your engagement?**

“Probably,” Mr Hummel said. “But I should perhaps mention that Anne has actually known about this for longer than anyone else. She was the first person I called. She is very happy for us, although she hasn’t had the opportunity to congratulate us in person quite yet, but she’s coming over from the states next month for a quick visit.”

**Is there anything that you, Mr Anderson, would like to say to the people of Scherzia at this time?**

“Yes,” Mr Anderson said immediately, almost as though he had been expecting the question. “Okay, so. As you might have guessed by now, I care very deeply for Kurt, and during these past few years I have been so touched to see the support he receives from the people of this nation. My hope for our future together is that I can become a good support for Kurt in his role as a ruler, and that I can help contribute to some of the work Kurt does. I’m very passionate about the importance of cultural programs being made available for all people, and also about the concept of equality of opportunity everywhere in the world. I’m grateful to get the chance to work alongside Kurt with different charities in order to make this world a slightly better place. And I’m hoping that, in time, I can earn the trust of the people of this country, just as Kurt has before me.”

As Mr Anderson wrapped up his answer, I took a quick glance at my watch. Out of the forty-five minutes I had been promised for this interview, I only had two left. Therefore, I decided to skip right over a question on how this union may influence our political relations with the US (another time, dear readers) in favour of a slightly more personal topic, once more.

**This next question is very simple, Mr Hummel, but I still think it’s very important. Why Blaine?**

Mr Hummel took a moment to think about that, before answering. “He inspires me, more than anyone else.”

**And what about you, Mr Anderson? Why Kurt?**

Mr Anderson didn’t hesitate even for a second. “He makes me believe that anything is possible.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was inspired not only by another fictional kingdom by the name of Genovia, but also by the very real royal family of Sweden and in particular Crown Princess Victoria and her husband, Prince Daniel. As I've mentioned before, all mentions of them in this fic are actually pretty much accurate. Daniel was Victoria's personal trainer when they met, but he also happened to be the owner of the gym and sort of an entrepreneur. And yes, the press really did have a [field day](http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2010/0619/Princess-Victoria-of-Sweden-s-marriage-a-crossroads-for-royalty) with the whole situation.
> 
> Victoria and Daniel married in 2010, and they have two children, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar. The title of this fic actually comes from a song that was written for their wedding - 'When you tell the world you're mine', which you can listen to [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3BYy2TEPRQ) . And if you're up for more sappy royal wedding clips I'd also recommend watching [Daniel's speech at their wedding](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd3tluTNspU), which is equal parts touching and hilarious.
> 
> I've had so much fun writing this story, and I've been so happy to see people's reactions while reading it and hearing your thoughts. A huge thanks to everyone who's been reading and commenting, and also of course to my wonderful beta, who is more of a princess than anyone I'll ever know. ❤


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